Ordeals of A Frog
by pervertmonster
Summary: Story about Tsuyu knowing Izuku and Katsuki when they were kids. Rated M for potential content in later chapters. Tsuyu/Izuku pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! This is my first story in the My Hero Academia series, so I hope you enjoy!**

 **As with another one of my stories, this will follow the series, which means it's going to follow the events in My Hero Academia with only a few or several differences. The first difference being that Tsuyu has known Izuku and Katsuki since they were kids.**

 **I'm not very good at writing a lot, so don't really expect a ton of updates for the next maybe year or so. Or maybe expect a lot? Sometimes, I can't stop myself from writing and updating chapters.  
**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

"Come on, Midoriya, let's just go play heroes somewhere else."

The girl, Asui Tsuyu, tried to console the kneeling boy who had been teased and insulted by another group of boys. The boys laughed at the two as they played from afar. They were all children around the age of 4 and one of the games they all liked to do was to pretend they were heroes capturing bad guys.

The boy, Midoriya Izuku, had wanted to play a bit differently. He wanted a scenario where they would rescue others, however, it was an unpopular choice because it had little to no fighting involved, which caused him to be ostracized.

She was the only one who had wanted to join him, but now it was only the two of them.

"Sorry, Asui ..." Izuku sniffled, wiped his tears away, and stood up with her help, "Everyone ... kinda left. If you want to play with them, that's fine ..."

"No, I like your idea better." she smiled comfortingly at him, "I would rather help people than fight them."

Tsuyu didn't want to leave the boy by himself after being bullied. It already weighed on her conscious that she didn't stand up for him, but the least she could do was provide some company.

"Really?" the boy's expression brightened, "I'll let you be All Might then! What kind of thing are you saving me from?!"

They walked to a different part of the playground. Izuku was beaming with excitement, while Tsuyu was relieved that he had cheered up.

"It's alright. I'll be a different hero!"

"Eh?!" the boy shouted in shock, "Who wouldn't want to be All Might?!"

"I'll be Froppy!" she exclaimed, her cheeks slightly red from embarrassment.

"Froppy? I've never heard of that hero before!"

"That's because she's not a hero, yet. That's the hero name I came up with!" it was hard to present her desired hero persona, "It ... might sound a little weird-"

"It's not super awesome, like All Might," the boy murmured, getting a disappointed look from his companion, " but ... it's cute!" the first person to recognize her and her dream gave her an approving smile, "I think it's a good name, Asui!"

She had told a few other kids, as well as her family, but she could tell they didn't take her seriously. The kids had laughed at how silly the name was, and the adults passed it off as a phase that every kid goes through.

" ... Call me Tsuyu."

" ... Eh?"

"I'll call you Izuku, alright ... ?" she turned away, not being able to face the boy with flushed cheeks.

"A-Ah ... alright ..."

* * *

"Stay away from Deku, Asui!"

" … What are you talking about, Katsuki?"

The boy, Bakugou Katsuki, was confronting Tsuyu about her playing with the other boy. Katsuki was the leader of the little band of boys that had excluded Izuku from their group.

She and Izuku had been almost inseparable for several weeks, and the other boy seemed bothered by it.

"Deku's useless at everything. You should join my group from now on. Unlike him, you're useful."

"Who's Deku, Katsuki? I hope you're not talking about Izuku."

"He's Deku!" a few, minor explosions erupted from the boy's palms, "He's going to drag you down! If you stick with me, you'll become a great hero!"

"I hope you don't mean sidekick, Katsuki. I don't mind being used, but I've got my own dreams and goals." she didn't understand why he acted this way, but it was beginning to upset the young girl, "Also, stop calling Izuku "Deku". It's insulting."

"You're going to regret this, you idiot! You'll see how bad it is to stay with that useless Deku!" the boy shouted in frustration, explosions continually coming from his palms before he ran off. People that had been in the area were surprised when he ran by them, smoke coming from his hands.

Tsuyu sighed as she watched him leave the park area to go back home. There weren't any kids around that knew her, so she didn't really have a reason to stay.

She thought that Katsuki would have been a bit friendlier than this when he had invited her out today, but it was disappointing that he was being unreasonable.

* * *

Tsuyu was making her way home from the park when she spotted a bunch of kids gathering at the edge of the river. They were a year younger than her, old enough to begin walking, so they might have not known to play away from the river without supervision.

"Don't stand so close to the river!" calling out to them, she made her way to their spot, "It's dangerous if you fall in-"

Getting closer, she could see that her warning came too late. There was a kid struggling near the center, and there was someone else with him.

With the child was her friend, Izuku.

Tsuyu jumped into the water, and swimming towards the two, she was able to see underwater that the younger kid had gotten his foot trapped in some rocks and something that someone had thrown into the river.

It was a rather messy situation. The kid had somehow gotten wrapped up in the debris, which made it much harder to leave. Izuku must have tried to free him, but the water either hurt his eyes or he couldn't see how to get the boy out, and instead he focused on keeping the boy's head above the water.

With the help of her tongue, she was able to unravel the trash from the boy's legs, and Izuku managed to get him up onto land. The young girl couldn't leave the trash in the river, so she carried it out. Emerging from the water onto the river bank, she saw that it was the remains of a bicycle.

As she got out, the boys started thanking her profusely. Another kid arrived with what seemed like the child's mother, and Tsuyu was thanked by her as well.

* * *

The children and mother left, and the two kids were left alone. Tsuyu dried off her clothes as much as she could, but the water didn't bother her. It was a little cold, but since they lived nearby, she could deal with the elements for twenty minutes.

"Thanks again, Tsuyu!" Izuku bashfully rubbed his head as they walked home together, "I was really worried about them when they were playing so fast near the river. They were lucky you were around!"

"I didn't really do much. They were going to be okay since one of the kids went to get an adult, and that you were there."

"Ah .. no, I wasn't really needed ..."

She looked at his downtrodden expression and sighed.

"You helped. I had an advantage due to my Frog-Form."

"... I know. It's just that, I wonder what my quirk's going to be … and when I'll get it."

"Knowing your mom, it'll be pretty cool." Tsuyu smiled at her friend, who was calming down, "From what I've heard about your dad, you'll also have some sort of fire thing."

"Maybe ..." Izuku thought for a few seconds before wrapping something warm around her shoulders.

"Wha- this is?"

He had wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. Turning to him, she saw that he was facing away from her.

"I ... took my jacket off before I went into the water. I … I thought it might be a little cold out so-"

" ... Thanks, Izuku ..." the frog girl snuggled deeper into the jacket and leaned against him, stopping their walking pace.

"T-Tsuyu …?!"

"It's warm ..." Tsuyu could could feel his heartbeat through the jacket and their wet clothes, " Thanks for being here, Izuku. This helps a lot!" she happily croaked a few times, and each time she did so, Izuku would tense up.

"N-N-No p-p-pro pr-pro ..." not being able to speak, he decided to quit speaking, so as to not let her know he was embarrassed. His reaction was very amusing to Tsuyu as his body warmed her.

Looking around, Izuku finally realized that he and Tsuyu were standing still on the side of the road as people walked around and watched the two.

Tsuyu croaked, listening to his increasing heart rate.

"Thanks for walking me this far ..." whispering in his ear, she slowly left his side, "I'll return your jacket later, okay?"

Tsuyu stared at Izuku, who stood stock still with his face bright red, and croaked.

"Meet you after the weekend!"

* * *

"Hey, didja hear?! Midoriya's got no quirk!"

"He's so weird! How can anyone be quirkless?!"

"Kids! Please, behave yourselves!" the teachers for the school struggled to reign in the rambunctious kids as they ran by Tsuyu.

The girl was shocked, and searched for her friend.

He was sitting down, staring at a wall with bloodshot eyes while the other kids incessantly chattered next to him, as if he wasn't there.

Making her way to him, she was stopped by a group of kids.

"You hear that, Asui?" Katsuki told her with a grin, "Deku's the most useless one!"

Impatience flooded through her body as he continued to stand in her way, his cronies surrounding her.

"Not now, Katsuki!" the boy was blocking her way, and she couldn't see Izuku, "Something like that doesn't matter!"

"Why do you always hang out with him?!" by now, Katsuki was shouting and explosions from his uncontrolled quirk were starting to erupt, "What's so good about him anyway?! Do you like him or some-?!"

Throughout the room, a loud smack was heard, and Katsuki fell to the ground, staring at the girl who had hit him.

After that, the group of kids were put in different rooms to calm down. Eventually, when Tsuyu was able to leave, Izuku was already gone.

* * *

"Hold it, Asui."

Katsuki and his cronies had decided to wait to get revenge, until they were out of sight from the school. The group of kids around Katsuki had blocked off Tsuyu's path as they stood in a tiny alleyway in the residential zone.

"It's not fair that you get to hit me, so I'm going to hit you!"

"I'm not playing games with you, Katsuki! Leave me alone!" Tsuyu was close to hitting him again, but she needed to find Izuku.

"This isn't a game!" Katsuki glared at her while he clenched his fists, "You should have listened to me when I told you to stay away from Deku!"

"Don't call him that!" she extended her tongue, trying to hit him again, but he punched at it, letting off an explosion.

When her tongue was burned by the explosion, Tsuyu let out a short scream. She fell and withdrew her tongue to look at the burn while the other kids nervously backed off.

"H-Hey, Kachan, let's just go, alright?!"

"N-No!" the boy was sweating heavily, realizing what he had done, "She started this! This is her fault!"

The other kids stared at Tsuyu, who had a few tears streaming down her face from the pain.

"Come on, A-Asui!" Katsuki yelled at the kneeling girl, taking a few steps towards her, "Get up! W-We're fighting!"

"I don't like this!" one of the kids ran off.

"Hey, don't leave!" another kid followed, and soon, Katsuki was alone with Tsuyu.

"W-What the hell … ?! What a b-bunch of cowards!" the boy rose his fist towards Tsuyu, and she backed away as much as she could.

"Come on! Fight!" Katsuki was visibly panicking, sweat dripping off of him onto the ground, letting off tiny explosions. Tsuyu was starting to regain her composure, but knew that the boy wouldn't let her go so easily.

"I … I don't have time for you right now, Katsuki!" standing up, she glared at the other boy.

"You don't have a choice! I'm not going to let you leave until we settle this!"

He ran at her, his right fist cocked back as she ducked down. The explosion went off above her head as she moved past him, whacking him in shins with her tongue. The boy was able to withstand the attack, and grimacing, he backhanded her head, letting off another explosion.

Tsuyu fell, her ears ringing as her head hit the wall. Katsuki stood above the girl, panting while he glared at her.

"I win … Asui!" letting a triumphant grin form on his face, he knelt down to her, "Don't hang around Deku anymore, got it?! If you don't join my group, this is gonna happen aga-!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" one of his teachers had grabbed his ear, sharply yanking him away from Tsuyu, "Bakugou! You've gone too far this time!"

The frog girl took this chance to scamper off, leaving Katsuki to face the wrath of the school on his own while she could look for Izuku.

* * *

It had taken her some time, and some stumbling around, but she finally made it to Izuku's apartment. Knocking on the door, she wiped away some of the blood that had come from a cut in her mouth while she waited.

"Izuku?!" instead of her friend, it was his mother who answered the door.

"Sorry, Mrs. Midoriya."

"Tsuyu?! What happened to your face?!" Izuku's mother knelt down to the child, looking over her head at the scrapes and the black mark on the side of her head.

" … I got into a fight, but I'm alright. I wanted to see Izuku …"

"Ah … I'm sorry about that. My son hasn't come home yet," His mother took the girl's hands, "But if you would like, you can wait for him here and I'll help you clean up!"

Tsuyu paused, but nodded a second later and the two went into the apartment.

It was a clean sort of place, where All Might posters could be seen on some of the walls and pictures of Izuku's family as well as pictures of All Might littered the top of tables, but there were places where Izuku had settled down and worked in his notebooks.

Izuku's mother guided her to the dining table while she went to get a first aid kit. Paraphernalia of heroes other than All Might were scarce, and there were plenty of drawings lying around the table that weren't of All Might.

Taking a look at one of the pictures, it was a list of names that Izuku had come up with, but they were obviously inspired by All Might.

One of the pictures caught her interest. It had two characters on it, drawn as well as a four year old kid could draw, and one of them had "Froppy" printed above it. The other figure, however, was completely crossed out by someone in extreme distress.

"Here we go!" Smiling widely, Izuku's mother came back, a small white box in her hands, "Let's take a look at your head, Tsuyu!"

The girl sat still as the older woman took a look at her head, sometimes wincing as the lady gasped as she cleaned up the wounds. Izuku's mother's eyes were red, and the area around them was dark.

"I'm … I'm really glad that Izuku has a friend like you, Tsuyu …" a damp cotton swab was applied to her head, clearing up the soot, "It's … it's been a rough couple of days …"

"Is this about Izuku being quirkless?"

Izuku's mother gasped, although she continued to clean the girl's head and hair.

" … Yes. It's very … it's been difficult for Izuku and me these past couple of days. We only found out on Saturday about Izuku's … condition, and … and … !"

A choked sob surprised Tsuyu, and she saw that tears were falling down the mother's face.

"I … I'm sorry!" she tried to wipe her eyes with her wrists, due to holding the swabs in her hands, "I really am … ! It's just that … ! Even though Izuku … he really wanted to be a hero!"

"Mrs. Midoriya …" Tsuyu hesitantly touched the mother's shoulder.

"I … ! I couldn't tell him … !" The woman let her tears freely flow as she became smaller, seemingly becoming shorter than the little girl, "I couldn't even say … ! That he … ! That he could become … a hero!"

Tsuyu didn't even know how much pain her friend and his mother had been going through. Knowing the caring lady, she might have blamed herself for Izuku's situation.

" … It'll be alright, Mrs. Midoriya." The little girl slowly wrapped her arms around the woman's neck, although she had to stand on the tips of her toes.

Izuku's mother continued to cry, eventually accepting the hug from the girl.

The two stayed that way for some time.

* * *

"Are … are you sure you're going now? Izuku … he might show up soon …"

"It's alright, Mrs. Midoriya. I'll see him tomorrow at school."

"Ah, okay then … stay safe, Tsuyu!"

The little girl made her way home, going through a long and distant detour in an attempt to find her friend.

It was a few hours later, and the sun was about to set when she finally found Izuku.

He was being beaten by a furious Katsuki. The boy was on the ground and the other one was on top of him, hitting him repeatedly in the face, letting off explosions as he did so.

* * *

"It's all your fault, Deku …!" Katsuki grabbed Izuku's neck and hit him solidly in the head with his other hand, "D-Damn it! Shit! You … you shit muncher, Deku! Why can't anything go right-?!"

Something wrapped around Katsuki's neck, pulling his upper body away from the other boy, causing him to reach for whatever had started to choke him.

A powerful blow sent him flying to the side, but he was released from the mystery object. As he righted himself, he saw Tsuyu glaring at him.

"Gah … do you want to be beaten aga-?!"

Her tongue flew out at him again, and he tried to grab it, but it bent down towards his knees, wrapped around one of his shins, and she pulled. He fell backwards, but catching himself, he was going to send an explosion her way, until her foot collided with his head.

After he fell to the floor, she continued to stomp on his head, only stopping when he stopped flailing his arms.

She saw a little blood coming from his head, and she lifted his head up and checked if he was seriously hurt.

Even though there was a small cut on his head, it seemed he had lost conscience, which was good enough for her. She slowly set his head down, in a way where it wasn't uncomfortable and made her way to Izuku.

He was staring up into the sky listlessly and she frowned upon seeing his current condition.

" … It might be a little late in saying this, but here's your jacket …"

She had been wearing the jacket since she left the school. It had taken a hit from Katsuki, so it was a little burned and scuffed up from when she fell onto the ground.

Folding it as neatly as she could, Tsuyu knelt down and put the jacket on her lap, and set Izuku's head on top of it.

" … I'm sorry I wasn't able to find you, Izuku!" smiling, she looked down into his eyes, "I wish I found you sooner. I've wanted to talk to you."

" … I'm so sorry, Tsuyu …" she could see the tears starting to form in his eyes before they spilled like waterfalls onto her lap.

"W-What do you mean?" still trying to keep the smile on her face, Tsuyu struggled when she watched him continue, "You didn't do anything wrong!"

"I'm … I'm quirkless … !" sniffling, it didn't seem like he would stop, "Can you b-can you believe it?! I didn't eve-even think that was p-possible!"

"Some-Something like that doesn't matter … !" Izuku's tears were beginning to affect her, "Alright?! Everything will be fine-!"

"T-Then even without a quirk, can I b-be-?!"

Tsuyu knew what he was going to ask, yet, she wanted him to stop. She didn't want him to ask her, and she never wanted to answer a question like that. Desperately, she tried to force herself to ready a "yes!" for him, but her mind was going blank.

"-a hero … ?" he choked it out, and it was barely above a whisper.

The boy felt fragile on her legs. If she moved a muscle, it felt as if he would shatter into a million pieces. She didn't think her heart could take much more of this sort of stress.

Struggling, she tried to say the words she wanted him to hear. Something, or anything to make him feel good, or right again.

The sound that came out of her throat was half a hiccup and half a croak.

It wasn't what she wanted to do, and it certainly wasn't a word. She thought to herself that it was just one word, and all she had to do was say it.

That dreadful noise was the only thing that came out of her throat.

Repeatedly, that sound was the only thing that she could muster. Repeatedly, she tried to tell him "Yes! You can be a hero!".

But she couldn't. Crying, she leaned her head down into his chest and only cried.

" … It's not fair …" Izuku sobbed, and Tsuyu felt a part of him break.

" … I'll wait … !"

Izuku was startled when she shouted into his chest.

" I'll help you! I'll make you stronger! I'll do whatever it takes, so please … ! Please don't give up … !"

Grabbing his head softly, she pulled her head away from his chest so she could look him in the eyes.

"I … Froppy can't fight crimes alone, you know … ? And … and there's no one else she would want … b-but …"

Forcing a smile, she tried her best to save her friend. Lying wasn't her nature, and she didn't know what to say in this situation, but she didn't want to watch him fall and not do anything to stop it.

"I …" he sniffed loudly, but didn't turn away from her, even if her face was extremely close to his, "I … I want to be a hero … !"

The two tried to smile at each other, but it felt a little fake. If for only a little while, Tsuyu had given him a little hope for the future.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!  
**

 **It may or may not be romance heavy later on, but I don't think it'll reach a romantic relationship kind of thing. If it continues, that is. It might be obvious that I'm a heavy Izuku/Tsuyu, actually a Tsuyu/Izuku, kind of person, but this story is meant to focus more on Tsuyu than Izuku.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Here's another chapter I hope you'll enjoy!**

 **The reason for the rapid release is because I already had most of it written up! Ha! But I don't have anything else quite as developed as this at the moment, so maybe I'll disappear for a while.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

"Alright ... let's do our best, Izuku ... !"

"Y-Yes!"

Meeting a few days later at the riverside, they both wore light clothes.

The time was 5 AM, a fact that wasn't unnoticed by the two as they shivered in the cold.

"A-Are you alright, Tsuyu?"

" ... Eh ... ? Ah, I'm fine ... " the frog girl sleepily replied as she struggled to maintain her consciousness.

"M-Maybe we sh-should meet at a-another time-?"

"Izuku." grabbing his shoulders, Tsuyu pulled Izuku closer, "The moment we start to ... um ... procrastinate is where we lose. We must do this now."

The boy's face turned a dull red, which was barely visible to her as she continued to stare at him.

" ... A-Alright! Let's do this, Tsuyu!"

Izuku stood still as Tsuyu still held onto his clothes.

" ... T-Tsuyu-?"

"... You're warm ..." she closed the distance, snuggling into his arms.

"A-Ah ... !" he wiggled as she held onto him, making her bury herself even deeper, "W-W-What a-about r-r-r-running?!"

"Mmm ... yeah." she pulled away, and he knelt down while panting audibly, "I only needed to warm up a little."

Tsuyu started to run, leaving the boy behind.

"Wa ... wait for me ...!"

* * *

"Ha ... ha ... alright! We need to do a ... uh ... well rounded work out!"

The two had run for a while, and although the distance run wasn't measured by the two, they were both tired.

Izuku was more exhausted than her, barely able to stand as they stopped.

"Push ups ... is first!"

"U ... how ... how do you ... push up?" the boy had sweat pouring off of him as he tried to keep his eyes on his friend.

"Lets ... rest a bit before we do that ..." she noticed how tired he was, and even she was barely able to breathe.

They sat down, catching their breath and resting their legs.

"Hmm ... the book said it was better to do the ... exercises right after the run, but maybe it's okay ..."

"I ... I can't really ... do much more, Tsuyu ...!" the boy was on his hands and knees, and his breaths were heavy.

Tsuyu looked at him carefully, and sadly realized that she may have pushed him too hard.

"It's alright, Izuku ... I might have been a bit too pushy-"

"Ah! N-No! What I meant was-! I mean, I need a few more seconds, yeah!" he had suddenly spoke up after looking at her.

" ... Are you sure?"

"Y-Yeah ... !" smiling, he rubbed the back of his head.

"Alright then!" she felt a little more motivated from seeing him, "It's ... push up time!"

Putting her hands on the ground, she straightened her body and held herself up with the balls of her feet and hands.

"T-Then ... you do this!"

Lowering her arms so that she came close to the ground, she then returned to her original position.

"Ha ... now you try it."

He got into a position similar to hers, except his lower body was raised higher than hers.

"Wrong!" she slapped his rear, causing him to yelp and fall, "Again!"

After a few corrections, and Izuku's strange behavior from Tsuyu touching him, he was able to do a push-up.

* * *

"Now that push ups are out of the way, we have to run again."

Tsuyu's arms felt a little weak, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Izuku looked worse than she did, and a pang of guilt shot through her heart.

"Izuku ... it's alright if this is too much. We're only four, so we have plenty of time-"

"Y-You said ... that we ... we can't ... can't stop ...!" picking himself up, he could barely look at her on unsteady legs, "I ... don't want to quit!"

He was sweating a lot, shaking as well with quivering eyes, but Tsuyu couldn't think of anything to say for a few seconds.

"T-Tsuyu?"

"Ah, yes. Alright then, running. Um, now." without another word, she took off. Without knowing if Izuku would be able to follow her at the pace she was running at, she continued to run while trying to re-sort her thoughts.

* * *

The workouts were now starting to affect Tsuyu. Her breaths were rapid and deep, but they had run less this time.

Her exhaustion was due to her pacing. She had run too fast, almost sprinting along the river, and had tired herself out.

Izuku was still a bit away from reaching her position, so she took this time to rest and think about the current exercise regime.

The plan was to train everyday, but that might no longer be possible. Of course, this was the first day of the training, and their parents didn't even know about it. They were sure to get in trouble at about 6 AM, but Tsuyu didn't really have a plan.

She knew they needed to take a step in this direction. Regret would haunt her if she wouldn't live to her words, and the frog girl never wanted to see Izuku in that state of despair again.

By the time he made it to her, she had relaxed and already knew what the next thing to do was.

"Take a break, Izuku. You must be tired."

"Ha ... ha ... y-you're so ... strong, Tsuyu ... " he collapsed onto his back, breathing heavily.

"I ... I had more time to rest than you. If you fall asleep, I'll wake you up ...!"

Izuku didn't respond, which made Tsuyu worry. She crawled over to him and saw that he had fallen asleep, taking labored gasps of air.

"Really ... now I have to wake you up ..." she took his head in her hands and rested it on her lap, noting that he didn't feel as warm as before.

She stayed in that position for a while, beginning to nod off to sleep until she accidentally croaked.

"AH! I'm up ... !" his head shot up and he sat up away from her.

" ... Were you awake, Izuku?"

"N-No ... sorry for falling asleep." he rubbed his head, turning away.

"I see ... it's time for sit ups. So, come over here and hold my feet." she lay on the ground, her knees up in the air.

"Eh?"

"I can't really do it without support ... so help me."

"Y-Yes!" he called out to her as he rushed over and put his hands on her feet.

"Okay! Here I go ... !" with some effort, she raised her body, meeting her knees with her chest and lowering herself down.

"H-H-How ma-many are we d-doing?"

"Until I'm tired." Tsuyu stared up at his crimson face, "So please take care of me, Izuku."

He didn't respond as she completed another rep.

* * *

After finishing the sit ups, Tsuyu stood up and stretched as Izuku lay on the ground.

"One more run."

" ... Alright ..." his breathing had become shallow, so she waited until he picked himself up.

Except he fell over soon after. Rushing over to him, she settled his body on hers to support him. His skin was sticky and cold, and his breathing was poor.

"Izuku!"

"Not ... not yet ... I ... can keep going ..." he struggled against her in vain as she held him close.

"It's okay, Izuku! It's my fault for pushing you so far! Rest now!"

Holding him to prevent any more action was easy, but the mental strain on her was heavy. She didn't mean to overwork him, but she didn't feel the same level of exhaustion as he did.

Her body was too different, which she now understood on some level. Her quirk affected her body and made her stronger.

Izuku was quirkless. There were no special adaptations or enhancing features about his body, and it hurt her knowing that.

* * *

"Alright, now it's time for sparring!"

"S-Sparring?"

The six year old kids were on the same riverbank they had used since the beginning. At first, their parents had been furious, especially Izuku's, since Tsuyu had brought her son back in such a state. The families eventually let the two do as they wished, with certain conditions.

"Yeah, it's like a fight, except it's more like practice." Tsuyu explained, "The first one to admit defeat or when someone faints is when it ends."

"F-Faints?! Are we really going that far?!"

"Hm ... probably not. I don't really want to hurt you, Izuku, but it's for your sake!"

Her tongue shot out at him, smacking him in the face and sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Heroes don't get a warning before they're attacked." as he moaned on the ground, she walked over to him and knelt by his head.

He continued to moan until Tsuyu realized he had actually fainted from the attack. She frowned at him and gave him a lap pillow, licking his face guiltily until he woke up.

* * *

"Ready?"

"R-Ready!"

Izuku barely dodged the tongue that almost struck him in the face, and rolled towards his friend, but he wasn't able to avoid its return and it smacked him in the back of the head.

"O-Ow ..."

"I think that's enough for today."

The seven year old kids sat down near their backpacks, taking their homework out. One of the conditions of Izuku's training was to do well in their studies, which had benefited both of their grades.

"I need help with math, Izuku."

"Ah, that?" she was slightly unsettled as he mumbled to himself in a rapid fashion, "Here, this should help you."

Her friend had written out very detailed instructions on how she was supposed to approach the problem.

"This is too complicated." after taking a brief glance at it, she put it to the side, and sat closer to him "Explain it for me, please?"

"A-Ah ... okay."

"It's the frog and Deku!"

The two saw a group of kids approaching them, Katsuki in the lead.

" ... What are you doing, you frog bitch? You're known for picking up trash, but playing with it is a bit much, isn't it?"

"Katsuki, I see you're still rude. Did you need something?" Tsuyu asked the boy in a frank manner as Izuku froze up.

"Asui hangs out with Deku a lot, doesn't she?"

"Maybe they're, you know, together?"

"Heh, it's fitting, isn't it? This must be the prime dating location for frogs!"

As Katsuki's group continued to speak loudly, trying to tease Tsuyu and Izuku, the volatile boy's palms started sparking.

"What the hell would I need with a slimy frog like you?!" in a huff, he turned to leave, surprising the group of kids.

"Hey, Kacchan?! I thought you said you wanted to mess with Asui?"

"You stupid bastard ...! If you don't want to get hurt, you better shut up!"

"A-Ah! No, I didn't say nothing, I swear!"

They left, leaving Tsuyu and Izuku in a daze.

" ... What exactly did he want? I never know what's going on with him ..." Tsuyu muttered as her friend fidgeted in place.

"I ... I really don't know, Tsuyu ..."

* * *

"Tsuyu ... it's time. Go tell little Izuku ..."

Her mother gently pushed her out of the house, and watched her walk away towards her friend's apartment.

The way there was rough for the nine year old. She saw many of the places she and Izuku had played at. The place where she had found Katsuki hitting Izuku, the elementary school she attended, the riverside where they had spent five years training at.

Before she knew it, Tsuyu was standing before Izuku's apartment door. It had actually taken quite a long time, but it felt like a flash for the young girl.

Shaking, her hand rose up to the door and knocked.

Rustling could be heard inside, and she could hear Mrs. Midoriya tell her son to answer the door.

As the door opened, she was greeted by a bowing Izuku.

"Tsuyu ... thank you."

"I-Izuku ...?"

"Really ... you've been my friend for so long. The t-time I've spent with you ... was really fun ...!"

Slowly, he rose his head. Even if his eyes were closed, the dark circles surrounding his eyes were quite noticeable to the frog girl.

"So ... thank you! For being my friend ...!"

His eyes opened and they were extremely bloodshot. His eyes were completely red from how long he had been crying.

"I-I-I ...!" tears fell from her face, and she froze up.

Instead of talking, she rushed to him, and held him tightly in her arms, crying into his shoulder. The boy weakly returned the hug, but he didn't seem to have anymore strength in his body.

They didn't exchange words, and only expressed their grief at this parting of ways.

* * *

Tsuyu was too excited to sit down. It had been a while since she felt this energetic, but she couldn't help it. At twelve, she was finally able to get onto a train to visit her old hometown.

Seeing him again was her reason for being here. Their parents had exchanged contact information without telling them, making the frog girl exasperated but happy that they weren't cut off completely. It was different from seeing him in person.

Hearing footsteps, she jumped in surprise and turned to smile at her friend.

" ... The hell you looking at, Asui?"

It was Katsuki, with a couple of goons.

" ... Katsuki. It's ... nice to see you again."

"What ...?! This is that same Asui from years ago?! How are you?"

The goons were flustered at the sight of her, quickly trying to spark up a conversation with their former acquaintance.

"... Let's go. I don't think I wanna be here anymore ... "

"Eh? What about that garbage collection thing you do-"

"Did you not hear me?! We're fucking leaving!"

Raging, Katsuki left with his friends, leaving a now slightly tired Tsuyu.

It took more time than she thought it would, but Izuku finally showed up.

There were bruises all over his face, and he had some bandages wrapped in some areas.

"Izuku ...?"

"T-Tsuyu! I-It's nice to see you a-again!" she smiled at the stuttering speech he always took up when he spoke to her.

"It's been a while! I'm happy to see you again!" walking over to him, he flinched when she gave him a hug.

"S-Same t-to y-y-you!"

" ... Are you okay? Your face doesn't hurt, does it?" she worriedly took a look at his face, but it was hard to tell if they were serious or not due to his face becoming a tomato.

"Y-Yeah! It d-doesn't hurt or anything ..."

"That's good ... I've ... kinda got to go now though ..."

"Ah, it's about your family, right? It's fine, Tsuyu! It was really nice seeing you again. How's Samidare?"

"More energetic now that he can walk on his own. Here's some pictures of my sister, Satsuki."

Taking out her phone, she showed him a few pictures of her three year old sister.

"She's so cute ... she's amazing!" as he looked through the pictures, Tsuyu smiled a little at him.

"I can send more to you later, but I really should be going ..."

"Ah, sorry. Here you go."

As he handed her phone back, she hugged him tightly.

"I missed you, Izuku ...!"

"Yeah ... I really missed you too, Tsuyu ..."

"I ... I want to work with you again too ...!"

"That's not possible, you know?"

"I'll ... I'll wait here after school, okay?! My grades have b-been slipping a bit without you, and ... and I still need to work on my figure ...!"

"We both know that's not really true ... I'll wait for you here, okay?"

"Yeah ...!" she croaked loudly, hiccuping as she backed off, "I ... I need to go ..."

"See you later, Tsuyu ... "

Hesitating, she slowly backed away from him, turning and walking away.

* * *

"Izuku, this is Habuko. Habuko, Izuku."

"I-I'm Midoriya Izuku! N-N-Nice to meet you ...!"

The boy bowed deeply to the other girl, Mongoose Habuko, who remained still.

"Eh? This was "that" Izuku, huh? Nice to meet you, I guess, Midoriya."

"Habuko? You can call him Izuku."

"Hmm ... nah!" her reply sent a small shiver up Tsuyu's spine, "He looks weak. I actually expected something different from the way you talk about him."

"P-Please treat me well ...!" Izuku was still bowing.

"Hey now ... isn't that a bit too much? I'm not really that great of a person, actually, I'm rather terrifying, you know?" Habuko muttered as she tried evaluating her new friend.

"S-Sorry ... I d-don't do well with cute girls-"

"C-Cute?! Are y-you blind?! Me?! Cute ... !" taking a few steps back, Habuko turned away from the two and started to panic.

" ... He's alright, I guess ..." calming down, she faced the smiling Tsuyu and still bowing Izuku.

"Habuko? Do you want to come over for dinner? Izuku and I were going to go have dinner with my siblings. Didn't you mention you wanted to meet them?"

"G-Gah ... ! I-I ... I guess it wouldn't hurt to meet your family ... "

* * *

"Hey, are you teasing him or something? Why do your fights always end up embarrassing?"

The three students were at the riverbank, near Izuku's apartment. Tsuyu had told Habuko of her idea of helping Izuku train to become a hero, which she had mixed feelings about. A year had passed before Habuko had asked to come along for the training.

"They're not fights, it's sparring." Tsuyu replied nonchalantly to Habuko's question, Izuku's head and shoulder trapped between her calf and hamstring and his lower body restrained by her tongue. She held his other arm tightly to her chest.

" ... Can he even breathe?"

"I'm not sitting on him. Izuku? Are you tapping out, or can you free yourself?"

Judging by the heat that came from her leg, he wouldn't be able to respond, so she let him go, and as she stood up, he remained on the ground.

"Ah, he's doing that thing again where he won't move for a few minutes. You didn't freeze him, did you?"

"Nah, this is all him. I told you, don't do this sort of thing in your school uniform. You make me feel a little bothered when you're like this."

They stared at him, enough to make him feel it, making him stand up in a fluster.

"T-Thanks, T-Tsuyu …"

"Thanks? For what?"

"N-Nothing!"

"He's probably thanking you for touching him-"

"W-What?! No!"

" … You're dirty, Izuku ..."

"I-It wasn't that!"

"Pervert …! Do you want to punish him, Tsuyu?!"

"It must be done, or else he'll never learn."

"W-W-Wai-!"

Habuko used her quirk, which froze Izuku for a few seconds. Tsuyu quickly went up to him, hugging the frozen boy.

"T-Tsuyu?!" it wasn't what Habuko had in mind when she mentioned punishment.

"Per … vert ~" she brought her tongue up the side of his neck, to his ear.

Three seconds had passed, but Izuku didn't move, as Tsuyu continued to lick him.

"What are you freaks doing?!"

"Ah, who's that loudmouth over there?"

Tsuyu stopped harassing Izuku to see that Katsuki, alone, was approaching them. He took a look at her and Izuku and explosions started forming on his palms.

"Asui, you frog bitch, what the hell are you doing ... ?!"

"I'm helping Izuku."

"Yeah fucking right! Nothing can help that shit-head Deku!"

"So rude …!" she got off of Izuku to glare at him, "What do you want, Katsuki? I didn't think we were worth your time."

"Maybe not Deku and the dirt munching snake, but if you wanted somebody to whip your ass, I suppose I wouldn't mind!"

He smirked cockily at her, while Habuko stood next to Tsuyu.

"Who's this? A friend or an enemy?" she hissed, "I sure hope it's enemy ..."

"He's a bit rough around the edges, but he's still a friend. His name is Bakugou Katsuki." she motioned to Habuko, "This is Mon-"

"I don't give a shit! If you've got the time to beat Deku into the ground, you've got time for me!"

"Habuko, go ahead."

"Kick his ass, Tsuyu!"

Katsuki crouched down, ready to attack, but Habuko's eyes shined and he couldn't move.

Tsuyu grabbed Katsuki's body with her tongue, pulling him in and kicking him between the legs. After the three seconds were over, the boy started panting in pain as he lay on the ground.

"You … ! Bitch … !"

"Even you have a weak point, Katsuki, and stop insulting Izuku and Habuko. I think we're done here."

Tsuyu motioned to her two other friends and they left the volatile teen on the ground.

* * *

"Way to be a man, Midoriya!"

Habuko started to criticize Izuku, who had done nothing when Katsuki arrived.

The boy didn't look at the girls, and chose to stare at his feet while walking with them.

"Hey, don't ignore me! Are you the kind of guy who lets other people walk over him and his friends?!"

"N-No … it's just that, Kacchan doesn't really like it when I fight back, and he tends to get more violent ..."

"I thought you said things were getting better, Izuku?"

"T-They are!" he flinched at her questioning gaze, "I mean, it's not as though he bothers me all the time! It's only when I stand out in some way ..."

"Jeez, that guy's borderline psychotic! What the hell did you do to piss him off so much?!"

"I … I have no idea …"

The two stared at the boy, who said nothing for a while and avoided eye contact.

"A-Anyway, this is where I go! I … I'll see you later-!"

A long tongue wrapped around his head and pulled him into Tsuyu's embrace.

"E-?!"

"I'm sorry ..." she hugged him tighter, and he chose not to say anything, "Whatever his reasoning is, it's not fair for you, Izuku."

Habuko stared at the two, not saying anything and her expression was unreadable.

* * *

The boy left and the two started to walk home.

"... I don't think he can be a hero, Tsuyu."

The frog girl didn't respond, and instead walked silently.

"I mean, he can't stand up for himself, he's not strong in any way, and he's got no quirk!"

"He's got a good heart-"

"That's not going to save him when Lord Blastyass comes and blows him up-!"

"I'm not giving up on him, Habuko! So please!" Tsuyu faced her friend with a desperate expression, "Please don't give up on him either. He's not … in a good place right now, and I think he needs all the friends he can get ..."

"Okay, okay … !" Habuko didn't mean to make her friend sad, "I didn't say that because he's … not hero material, it's just that, heroing isn't a game and he needs to learn that. He should focus on some other career, like police work or something ..."

" … No, he needs to be a hero. There's no other option for him …"

" ... Why? Why is that so important to him?"

"It's … something he wants ..."

The snake girl sighed and started walking a different direction.

"This is my stop, Tsuyu. Stay safe while going home, okay?"

" … Yes, thank you, Habuko. Be safe as well."

* * *

"I'm home … !"

"Welcome back!" her two siblings greeted her as she entered the house.

"What would you like for dinner?"

"Beef stew!" they unanimously declared as she went to the kitchen.

"Alright, it'll take a while. Sorry for being late …"

"Were you with Izuku again?"

"Why doesn't he just live here? Wouldn't it make things easier?"

The two pestered her as she prepared the ingredients.

"It … doesn't quite work that way …"

"Yeah, you have to make babies first, then you get to live with each other, stupid!"

"Nuh uh! You've got to live with each other first!"

"It can work out differently," Tsuyu interrupted her siblings without batting an eye, "but that's not what's going on between me and Izuku."

"Yeah right! You're always with him!"

"One of my friends said that being near a boy too long makes you pregnant."

"What's "pregnant" mean?"

"It's when you get baby-fied."

"I read that froggies make babies weirdly! They lay eggs, like chickens, and then daddy froggy does something and then babies happen!"

"Tsuyu, do you lay eggs and Izuku babies them?"

"Does mommy lay eggs?"

"No, I don't lay eggs, and neither does mother."

"But, does Izuku baby you?"

"If anything, it's the other way around."

The two siblings gasped in shock.

"I didn't know that boys get babied!"

"Girls get babied more than boys, but boys can be babied as well."

"B-But I don't want to be babied!"

"It's too late." Tsuyu stared creepily at her brother, "It's already happened ..."

"Nu uh! Who babied me!"

"It was me!" grabbing her brother with her tongue, she pulled him closer to her and hugged the screaming boy.

"No! No … ! I don't want babies!"

"It's alright. You're not going to have babies."

" … I won't?"

"No, silly." she let the sniffling boy down as she directed her attention back to her cooking, "Boy's can't get pregnant."

"But … you said you babied Izuku …"

" … As I said, it's different. I just treat him like he was a baby."

" … Does that mean he can't take care of himself?"

"Samidare!"

"What?! I had to take care of Satsuki a lot too, you know!"

"I can take care of myself!"

"Not when you were tripping on your own tongue!"

"I don't do that anymore!"

As her two siblings argued, Tsuyu was lost in thought.

* * *

"Tsuyu? I have to talk to you ..."

"Izuku?"

"I … I finally did it!" he hugged her tightly, making her warm up from the unexpected, but pleasant action.

"You did?"

"Yeah, I became a hero!" pulling away, he was blinding her with his smile.

"But, you don't have a quirk?"

"Even without one, I was able to get this far! Thank you, Tsuyu, for never … giving up on me!"

He shook, tears already falling from his eyes as he dropped to his knees. The frog girl held him up before he hit the ground too hard, and he started to cry into her chest.

"I … I didn't do much, Izuku … !" closing her eyes, she held him tighter.

"I only wish … that we had more time …"

"I-Izuku?" he felt colder, and in surprise, she opened her eyes.

There was blood everywhere. He was nearly ripped in two as his weak eyes stared up into hers.

"T-Tsuyu …"

"No …"

"Thank you … Tsuyu … I … I got to be a hero …"

"You … you idiot! If … if it was going to end up this way … I would have rather you … rather you …!"

* * *

Her darkened room greeted her eyes as she woke up. She didn't scream, she didn't rise from bed, but she did sigh slowly as she tried to sort of emotions.

Rationalizing the dream, she realized that there was nothing wrong. Izuku was alive and well, he wasn't going to die in such a horrible way, and there was no chance of him suffering from that while she was around.

Thinking about it in more depth, she didn't necessarily know how he was doing at the moment, that was her wishing for the best. That there was no telling what would happen if he were to become a hero, and that he wouldn't avoid such a fate.

There was no way of reassuring herself that she would be there to protect him, even more so if they were both heroes. They could be miles away from each other and she wouldn't be with him.

It was a familiar procedure. One she had repeated over the years as a way of calming herself down.

She didn't scream. She didn't rise out of bed call her friend to hear his voice.

Tsuyu fell back to sleep, hoping she would avoid the nightmares for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next day, Izuku didn't show up at their meeting spot.

" … Maybe he gave up?"

The two girls were working on their homework and studying for their next class while they waited for the boy.

"He wouldn't give up so easily. That's not Izuku."

"I don't know … speaking of giving up, what did you get on the test? My score's terrible …"

"Here." Tsuyu handed over her test.

"What the hell?! This is almost a perfect score?!"

"Izuku helps me study. We help each other in areas we're weak in."

" … Where is he, anyway? Don't tell me that asshole did something to him …"

Tsuyu took out her phone and tried to call Izuku, but she only got a number not in service message.

" … He must have turned off his phone."

"What do you mean by that? Who turns their phone off?"

"During class, or when you don't want your phone interrupting something-"

"I know that people turn their phones off, but who would call him besides you?"

" … His mother?"

Sighing, Habuko packed up her stuff and waved to her friend.

"It's getting late. I don't think he's coming today. Want to walk home?"

" … Yeah …"

* * *

"Guys, dinner's almost ready!"

"Yay! Pasta!"

Her two siblings cheered at the dinner table as Tsuyu brought over their meals.

"There's more if you want some, so don't hold back!"

"Can we watch tv while we eat?!"

"Sure, but don't forget about your food."

"Alright!" her brother turned the tv on, but every channel was the same thing.

"Huh? Why can't I watch something else?"

"It's the villain alert. They only air this when someone deadly is about so you can avoid it."

The villain was blowing things up as the heroes tried to keep the damage to a minimum.

"Uwa … that's scary …!"

"Tsuyu … ! That's not near us, is it?!"

"Now, now ..." she tried to comfort the two while she watched the tv, "It's nearby, but the heroes will stop him, just like always, right?"

"Y-Yeah! Go get him, heroes!"

"Kick his butt!"

Smiling, Tsuyu continued to watch the tv as the villain turned to face the camera.

It was Katsuki.

"K-Katsuki?!"

"W-What's wrong?" their sister got up and got closer to the tv.

It was Katsuki, but there was something around him, covering up his body. It must have been something controlling the boy, as Katsuki wouldn't do something to jeopardize his hero career.

Somebody ran out towards the villain and hostage from the side of the camera, bypassing the heroes and bystanders.

It was Izuku.

"I-Isn't that Izuku?!" her siblings ran up to the tv, watching it with their sister.

The boy threw his backpack at the villain's face, and he ducked under Katsuki's controlled hand.

His backpack erupted in a geyser of flame, and the buildings behind it were engulfed in a large explosion.

"I … Izuku …!"

The boy ran up to the villain, and tried ripping Katsuki out of his body, but it seemed to be ineffective due to the villain's amorphous body.

The villain raised Katsuki's hand to Izuku's head, but the building that had taken the earlier hit collapsed, obscuring the view of the fight.

The front door of their house opened, and a large gust of wind came inside, almost knocking Satsuki and Samidare over.

"Izuku …!" their sister screamed outside, and they went to go to her, but she was already gone.

* * *

Tsuyu raced over to where the villain had been, jumping on the rooftops of the buildings in her way.

She was panicking, her nightmares haunting her as she hurried, and despair was already creeping into her heart. There was an explosion of wind as soon as she opened the door, and she didn't know anything else that could cause that.

The thought that Katsuki wasn't strong enough to do that sort of thing didn't occur to her in her state of panic.

Tears were falling from her eyes as she finally reached the place of conflict, preparing for the worst.

* * *

Except it wasn't as bad as she thought. The buildings were mostly intact, except the one that had blocked the camera. Heroes were going around, collecting weird colored water patches that littered the area.

She was also told to get off the buildings, and that the water was actually pieces of the villain that a hero, All Might, had scattered the villain.

Looking around, she saw Katsuki and Izuku, but the heroes were talking to them, although she didn't like the way the heroes were looking at Izuku.

Sighing in relief, she decided to wait for Izuku after the heroes were done with him.

* * *

"I didn't need your help, you fucking idiot! Gah ...! God fucking damn it ... ! You piss me off so much, Deku ... !"

Katsuki was screaming at Izuku as he was making his way home. The volatile boy had broken away from the heroes when he had seen Izuku leave, and Tsuyu didn't want to intervene if it wasn't necessary.

"Yeah ... you didn't, Kacchan. I'm sorry."

"Grr ... know your fucking place, damn it!" without any explosions, the boy raged away from his classmate.

Tsuyu was hiding nearby, trying to think of words to tell her friend. To either berate him, or encourage him for his actions. To cry into his shoulder out of grief or relief, but she couldn't think of anything to do.

"Hold on for a second, my boy!"

The two jumped at an unexpected voice, someone the two didn't think would show up.

It was All Might, the greatest hero on the planet.

"I've got some words for you, young man!"

"E-Excuse me, All Might, I need to say something too!" Izuku shouted, surprising both his hidden friend and the hero.

"Earlier ... earlier when I asked you if I could become a hero," the frog girl had to hold her mouth in case any noise tried to leak from it, "you ... you were right. It's dangerous for someone like me ... a quirkless, weak kind of guy. I know that ... and I'm sorry. It's ... time I faced reality."

Tsuyu couldn't see them, but she wanted to desperately go to him and try to dissuade him from such thoughts, but she couldn't. She felt the same.

"I ... I can't-"

"Hold on there-!" the hero's loud and booming voice suddenly degenerated into a coughing fit, and Izuku cried out in worry for the hero.

"-Let me say my piece now ..." somehow, the hero sounded much weaker and sickly than he did before.

"I was a bit too hasty with my words before. I talked big words when I said heroes put their lives on the lines for others, and I was dangerously close to becoming a hypocrite. I was standing on the side lines, hoping someone else would save that kid."

"HOWEVER!" the heroes voice may have been weaker, but it held much more impact, "While I was waiting for that hero, who was the first to act?! It wasn't someone with a super powered quirk! It wasn't someone who had a plan made up to save the day!"

"NO! It was YOU! Weak, quirkless YOU! You tried saving that boy, despite everything against you! The most heroic one there, was in fact, YOU ...!"

"There's a saying ... that most heroes reply when asked about how they came about to BE heroes-!"

"W-Wait ... stop! T-That sort of thing ... !" Izuku tried to interrupt All Might, but his voice was barely above a whisper and drowned out by All Might's, despite the hero's condition.

"... "My body moved before I could think" ... ! That kind of behavior, and that sort of mindset, are essential to being a hero! No, it's the core idea behind BEING a hero!"

There was a lull in his speech. Tsuyu couldn't think, her mind was blank and she felt like crying.

"Boy ... you can become a hero ... !"

She couldn't see him, but she knew he was crying. She knew that he was probably on his knees, crying his eyes out because of this. His hero, the one that he had looked up to, the one that had saved him today, and the one that everyone recognized as a true hero was standing before him.

Telling him that he could be a hero.

Tsuyu knew this because she was starting to cry. Her heart bled for her friend who was audibly sobbing from around the corner. Who had waited more than ten years for someone to simply tell him that he could be what he wanted to be.

" ... You are worthy to inherit my power!"

" ... Eh?" Izuku and Tsuyu's thoughts were interrupted by this declaration from the number one hero.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what YOU think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy!**

 **There's a lot of simplification in All Might's speech, sorry. Didn't know of a better way to put it and I couldn't remember most of it.**

 **I don't use ~ a lot, but I've used it a few times to sort of draw out a character's speech without putting extra letters.**

 **Also, I suck at keeping the characters as themselves. I try, but don't expect too much quality.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

"All Might, the symbol of peace, has to come off as a natural born hero! But, actually, my quirk was passed down to me!"

"A ... quirk that can be given-?! I mean, something like that sounds unfounded, so crazy that something biological can be passed on to someone like me, but at the same time, there's no proof against it- There's quirks that can copy other quirks, so it stands that t-"

"Hold on there, boy!" Tsuyu could hear Izuku's mumble mode from here, but All Might interrupted it, "I'm proposing that you try to accept my power! The quirk that I inherited, One For All, has the ability to transfer power! One cultivates it, passes it on, and another refines it and continues the process! I'm offering you the opportunity to accept my power, but if you refuse, I will understand!"

"All Might ... I've ... I've dreamt about being a hero so long ... ! I ... I can't think of a reason to refuse!"

" ... Is that so ... ? Very well! Let's exchange contact information! I'll be sure to get in touch with you later with details about your training!"

The two left shortly after that. Tsuyu sat as quietly as she could for a long while, even after they had gone their separate ways.

And then, she left to go back home.

* * *

She waited four days before contacting Izuku. It sounded as though All Might and Izuku would have some sort of schedule set up, so she tried to reach him during dinner time.

He sent her a small text telling her that he had finished dinner and was exercising. He sent her a location ping telling her that he was close by, but it was strange for him to be out while it was raining.

Samidare and Satsuki had already been put to bed, so she decided that she could go out and meet him.

Putting on some appropriate wear, she left the house and jumped to where he had sent the ping.

* * *

Deciding that surprising the boy would be fun, she waited near the street while soaking in the rain.

A thin, shadowy figure started to run down to where she was, and making sure it was her friend, she shot her tongue out.

"Gah!"

"Izuku!" she pulled him closer to her, hugging his head tightly, "Nice of you to drop by ~!"

"T-T-Tsuyu?!" his head reached high temperature as if his blood was boiling, "W-W-What a-are y-y-you w-w-wearing?!"

He was referring to her short sleeves and shorts, which would be an unusual choice of clothing for most people if it was dark and rainy.

"This felt comfortable, so I thought it would be a nice surprise ~" the rain wasn't cold, but she still held his head tighter for extra warmth.

"A-Ah! It's r-raining!" his wriggling only excited her further.

"I guess I am a little giddy." letting go of him, she retracted her tongue and smiled at him, "Why are you out running this late? This is a little far from your place too."

"I-I-I-I-!" he could barely look at her since her shirt was almost see through.

"Izuku, take deep breaths and calm down."

He still didn't answer her, his entire body frozen and his eyes bloodshot, focused on her.

" ... Per~vert." her tongue wrapped around his eyes and he flinched.

"S-S-Sorry ... !" he calmed down now that he couldn't see anything.

"Where were you headed?" grabbing his shoulders, she directed him down the road.

"T-T-Takoba B-B-Beach."

"Alright, he we go!" she hopped in front of him, and started pulling at his head.

"A-Aren't you going to let go?!"

"Nope! Follow the frog ~!"

* * *

"Hm ... this place is a little familiar ... "

"U-Um, could you let go now?"

The beach was covered in trash, making it impossible to get to the water. The piers that were built to allow the public a better view of the ocean had mountains of trash covering them.

"Have we been here before?" her tongue unwrapped itself and Izuku wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

"N-Not that I know of. This is where I come with my trainer."

"Trainer?"

"A-Ah, I forgot to tell you. I got a personal trainer to help me become a hero!"

" ... I see ..." she had an idea of who this new trainer was.

"N-Not that you weren't helping me! In fact, he said that because I had built up some of my body, I could possibly make it in time for the next hero exams!" he had grabbed her hands, "W-W-We're going to be heroes, Tsuyu! Together!"

" ... Yeah." she nodded before looking around, trying to figure out why she felt nostalgia, "You meet here how often with this trainer?"

"E-Everyday." letting go, he looked embarrassed at his sudden enthusiasm.

"What time?"

"A-After school." she looked at the sign for Takoba Municipal Beach Park and paused.

" ... I remember now ..."

"T-Tsuyu?"

"It's time to go, Izuku! Want me to le~ad the way again?" for emphasis, her tongue floated in front of his face.

" ... I-I-It's alright!" he ran away, prompting Tsuyu to consider wrapping her tongue around his head.

Taking another look at the sign, past all the graffiti and other couple signs people had written, was one she had posted long ago when the two were kids.

Thankful, but somewhat disappointed, the frog girl chased after the boy who was gaining some distance from her.

* * *

"Hey, Katsuki, how have you been?" she popped out from a side street, causing the boy to jump a little.

"Tsk, Asui ... !" surprising the boy wasn't too hard for the frog girl, seeing as he stood out like a sore thumb.

"Have you seen Izuku lately? I can't seem to find him anywhere-"

"Why the fuck would I know where that shithead Deku is?!" although his tone was sharp and insulting, he didn't flare up or let loose any explosions.

" ... I saw that villain incident on tv." he flinched, grimacing and narrowing his eyes.

" ... So?"

"I was really worried, Katsuki." she put a hand on his shoulder, but he turned violently, " ... Really, it was very frightening-"

"I didn't need any goddamn help!" Katsuki growled at her, trying to turn away, but she would move, forcing him to face her, "And I certainly didn't need De- get the hell out of my fucking way-!"

Tsuyu slapped him hard in the face with her tongue, and she glared at him when he rubbed his cheek in shock.

"This isn't a game, Katsuki! I mean it! I didn't ask if you needed help, or anything about Izuku, I said I was worried about you! It looked very painful, and I wish I could have do-"

"You couldn't have done anything ... !" walking, he brushed her aside and increased his pace, "So stop that stupid worrying bullshit! I don't need it!"

" ... Izuku is doing his best, Katsuki-"

"Didn't I just sa-"

"So you better do your best too, or else you're going to lose." he stopped briefly.

" ... I've already fucking ... ! God damn it, leave me alone ... !" she watched him walk away, until he was no longer visible.

* * *

Takoba Beach was a very desolate place, save for the trash. The locals never came over to this area, which made it perfect for secret rendezvous between couples.

Of course, when Tsuyu went, she only saw a skeleton like man standing around.

He seemed nervous as she came into his view, or perhaps he was nervous before she arrived, but she decided to talk to him.

"Hello."

"H-Hi."

"I'm Asui Tsuyu." she stared at him, and he tried to avoid eye contact.

"... Toshinori."

" ... Are you Izuku's trainer?" he jumped, which proved her suspicions.

" ... Why do you ask?"

"He told me he had a trainer. I wanted to meet him, so I'm here."

"He never told me that he had a friend such as yourself."

"Do you mean nosy?" he coughed into a handkerchief, "I have a habit of saying what's on my mind."

"I wouldn't say that's a bad quality. You're worried for the boy, I understand."

His handkerchief was stained with blood.

"... Are you okay, Mr. Toshinori?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine! I'm feeling a little under the weather is all!"

"All Might!" whatever blood the man had in his face vanished as her friend called out from the distance.

"Ah, Izuku." she faced the beach's entrance as the boy came into view.

"Sorry I- T-T-Tsuyu ... ?" Izuku paled when he saw her and the man.

It was too silent for the frog girl's liking. The two looked like they had informed her of a secret relationship or something.

"Aren't you going to train with Mr. Toshinori?" tilting her head, she tried to defuse this situation.

"B-B-By A-A-A-"

"It's okay." walking up to him and slowly rubbing his shoulder, she gave him a sad smile, "I know that you're excited about working with a professional, but ... I didn't really want to say this, but you've got to keep your delusions in check, Izuku ... "

"D-Delusions ... ?"

"Remember? It would be "All Might" this, and "All Might" that ... not to mention the hero names you came up with."

If it was possible, Tsuyu swore all of his blood was drained from his body.

" ... You ... saw ... ?"

" ... Yes."

A few tears trinkled from his eyes.

" ... I ... can-"

"It's alright. You don't need to." he trembled under her hand, "Just ... work hard, Izuku! I'll watch a bit before I have to go to the store."

She dragged her mortified friend over to Toshinori, and sat on the stairs leading to the beach.

The man was sweating heavily as she embarrassed Izuku and afterwards, he cleared his throat nervously.

"Y-Yes! It is I! Mr. Toshinori, your professional hero trainer! Midoriya, my boy, you've really got to shape up! All Might?! Here?! It looks like I'm going to have to push you extra hard today!"

"Y ... Yes ... teacher ... " from her position, she could see Izuku staring at her listlessly as she listened to the completely unsuspicious announcement that All Might had made.

They lacked motivation in the beginning, but their training picked up as they got into the spirit of it. Izuku was hauling trash from the beach, and not in small amounts. He moved a car and what looked like a stove without any breaks while Toshinori observed the boy's condition.

She didn't think she had completely dispelled the tension or want to make Izuku think she pitied him, but Tsuyu didn't know what to say, and had said the first thing to make them believe that she didn't know that All Might was Toshinori. Unfortunately, she had to use her friends unusual fixation of the hero to accomplish that, and so silently, she apologized to the both of them before leaving.

* * *

"I haven't seen Midoriya in a while. Did you two break up or something?" Habuko asked while she and Tsuyu walked home.

"What kind of relationship do you think we have?"

"Close enough to hold hands, but too shy to kiss."

" ... No, that's not even close."

"What's with that pause? Not to mention the redness in your fa-"

"He's working with a professional trainer right now. I think it would be best to leave Izuku in his hands."

"Eh? Nothing juicer than that? What a letdown ... !"

"There wasn't anything other than that." Tsuyu was a little disappointed that her friend had such expectations between her and Izuku," ... Besides, I don't think Izuku thinks of me as attractive."

"Eh?!" the snake girl held her friend in place, her volume almost at screaming level which hurt Tsuyu's ears, "What are you talking about, Tsuyu?! He doesn't think of you as attractive?!"

" ... He's never called me cute?"

"Tsu~yu! If he called me cute, then you must be absolutely delicious!"

" ... Delicious?"

"Yeah! So much that I would want to gobble you up!"

" ... Unless he likes the taste of frogs, I don't think he would think so." she shook the snake girl off and walked off. Habuko rejoined her after a few seconds.

"Well, what about how he gets all nervous around you?"

"He gets more nervous around other girls."

" ... Maybe he's used to being around you? I mean, you lick him all the time and sexually harass him, so it's like a tolerance!"

The frog girl stopped and thought a lot about how she treated Izuku, and Habuko watched in confusion.

" ... It would be very difficult to stop ... "

"Is he like a drug or something?"

* * *

Tsuyu stood in front of Izuku's apartment, a basket under her arm as she knocked.

"Yes? Who- Ah! Tsuyu ... ! It's been so long!"

Instead of the boy, it was his mother that had answered the door. The frog girl was quickly hugged before being invited inside.

"Hello, Mrs. Midoriya! I thought I would visit for a bit, and I brought some leftovers."

"Oh, how kind of you, but Izuku's out at the moment. Something about training?" she brought the basket to their table, which no longer held the old doodles she remembered, "I thought he was talking about training with you ... "

" ... The food is not the only reason why I visited. I thought it would be nice to talk to you too."

"You're so sweet, Tsuyu!" she received another hug, which she returned, "I wish Izuku would be with a girl like you because ... well, you know how he is."

"Does ... he still have the board?" it was very difficult for her to ignore the statement, but Tsuyu did her best.

Izuku's mother frowned sadly, looking towards her son's room.

" ... He does ... "

"Oh, Izuku ... " they stared at his room, which held a board that listed all of Izuku's current friends and possible friends on it.

" ... L-Let's forget about that, shall we?" his mother smiled brightly at her, "How have things been, Tsuyu? Did you make any new friends?"

* * *

Some time had passed, but Izuku still had not shown up.

"It's getting late, Mrs. Midoriya. I better be going."

"A-Ah! I'm so sorry that Izuku didn't show up!" the woman did look disturbed that her son didn't come back in time, but Tsuyu understood what he was up to.

"It's alright! I'll see him some other time!" as she was leaving the dining room, she saw a note posted to the wall, next to the kitchen.

Izuku's mother seemed to notice and she tried to come up with an excuse for it, but it was too late.

It was a dietary plan, one that seemed too strict for what she had brought.

"I see. I'm sorry about bringing the food, Mrs. Mid-" as she picked up the basket, it was also grabbed by the older woman.

"No, please! It's fine, really!" she smiled at the girl, but Tsuyu knew it would be bad for Izuku to deviate from his plan.

"It's my fault for not asking him about it sooner. I wouldn't want to tr-"

"You not causing trouble!" her tone was a bit louder, "You never cause trouble, Tsuyu! H-He'll eat it! He always eats the things you make ... !"

"Mrs. Midoriya ..."

"H-He always sits there, at the table, when you make something for him! He would sit for the longest time ... c-crying in happiness!"

Tsuyu sighed deeply, believing that her friend really would do such a thing.

"I-I mean, I suppose I phrased that wrong-"

"It's alright, Mrs. Midoriya, I understand."

"N-No ... wait ... Tsuyu, I ... "

"If anyone is troubling us, it's Izuku."

"E-Eh?"

"Always making us worry. Always doing things all on his own, it's almost unbearable." she smiled as she pulled the basket closer.

"But ... I want to believe in him, Mrs. Midoriya. I don't want to stand in his way if he chooses to do this, so please."

The older women stared at her, finally relenting her grip on the basket after a few seconds.

"Mrs. Midoriya, it was no trouble at all coming over. Even if Izuku is out, it's very nice talking with you!"

"A-Ah ... !" Izuku's mother looked close to crying again, but Tsuyu quickly noted that she was already crying.

"W-Wouldn't it be alright to call m-me m-mother?"

Tsuyu tilted her head, confused by the sudden question.

"W-What am I s-saying?! I-I'm so sorry for that!" she bowed to the frog girl, but Tsuyu didn't feel insulted at all.

"It was nice seeing you again, M-Mrs. Midoriya. I'll be sure to stop by again."

"P-Please do!"

Tsuyu stood outside the apartment door for a few minutes. She could hear the mother on the other side move about the apartment excitedly, but she couldn't tell what the older woman's mood was. Tsuyu put a finger to her lips, and furrowed her brows before she left.

* * *

On her way home, she had a chance encounter with the boy.

He was sprawled out on a bench, weakly breathing as hard as he could.

"Izuku?"

Tsuyu was only looked at, but it didn't seem that he could move very much due to his fatigue.

"Are you okay? You're not overdoing it, are you?" she put a hand on his head, which felt cold at first, but gradually warmed up.

Taking Habuko's words into account, she removed her hand and sat next to him. His red face slowly returned to its original state to her eyes.

" ... You're the type that likes to be teased."

He jumped and tried to look away, but he was too weak to move his head.

"I was going to give you some leftovers." she directed his gaze to the basket, which he made arm movements at, as if to accept it, "But I saw your dietary plan, so you can't eat any."

Tsuyu saw the beginning of tears form in the corners of his eyes as he stopped trying to go for the basket.

"I thought I told you to get rid of that friendship board in your room. It's creepy."

Now he was crying, but still unable to say anything.

"You don't need to put my name up on a board. You should know by now that we're friends, Izuku."

The corners of his mouth curled a little even as he continued to cry.

She stared at him, trying to think of something else so she would be distracted.

" ... I knew it." he curled an eyebrow in confusion.

"It's too hard to resist." she slid a finger down his neck, making him shiver and burn up.

He was wearing shorts and short sleeves, so she got up and started to touch his arms and legs, which made the boy shake violently under her touch. Afterwards, she sat down next to him and stared at him.

Izuku's breathing slowed and his eyes were starting to shut, and not a minute later he was asleep.

"So defenseless ... ! You really do make me worry too much." she told the sleeping boy as she scooted closer to him.

* * *

"T-Tsuyu ...?" he woke up, although it was now dark outside.

"Sorry, I made you sleep a little. You should hurry home for dinner if you want to stick to your schedule."

"T-That's right! Um ... about earlier ... "

"I made you sleep a little bit. It's something I've been working on while you were training."

"T-There's that, but I ... I'll get rid of the board."

Sighing, Tsuyu smiled as she hugged the boy tightly.

"You're ridiculous, keeping something like that around even with all of the training."

"Y-Yeah."

"Also, don't cry while you eat my food." he became a statue, "Ask me if you want me to make you something."

"Sure ... " she pulled away, seeing his crestfallen face.

" ... You're going to be busy for these ten months, aren't you?"

He didn't answer her, but she knew from looking into his eyes that she was right.

"We'll ... have dinner sometime. I'll invite you over before the exams begin."

" ... Yeah."

"If you want, we can still study together, but ... looks like you're overworked as is when it comes to physical stuff."

"I'll ... thanks, Tsuyu. This workout is really ... taking a toll on me."

"Don't hurt yourself, Izuku ... give me a call, whenever you need me."

"G-Got it." the two stood still.

"I ... should be going."

"S-Sorry, I'll see you then."

"Yeah." still unmoving, she frowned as she stared at him.

Tsuyu hugged him, and then left, knowing she wouldn't see him for some time.

* * *

"The hero exams are in a month, Tsuyu." she sat with her family for dinner, "Have you been keeping up with your class work?"

"Yes, father."

"Tsuyu, are you really taking the hero exams with Izuku?"

"Yes, mother."

"Tsuyu ... ! I need more soy sauce!"

"Sorry, Satsuki, I forgot to get more at the store-"

"Were you playing with Midoriya again?"

"It's not playing, father! He's putting forward a serious effort, and I'm supporting him as much as I can!"

"The boy's quirkless, Tsuyu! Are you going to help him during the hero exam as well?"

"Father-!"

"Tsuyu, honey, you know Ganma likes Izuku. He's teasing you ... !"

"Beru!"

"He was telling me the other day what kind of quirk your children might inherit! Hopefully, a frog form with fire breath, or telekinesis-!"

"Stop! You two are the worst ... !"

The doorbell rang, making the children of the two frogs jump.

"Ah, go get it, Tsuyu! We're a bit busy here ... " her mother told her, putting another mouthful of pork cutlet into her mouth.

The frog girl got up, a bit annoyed that she was being teased, and answered the door.

"I-Izuku ... how was the trip!"

"H-H-Hello, T-Tsuyu ... !" he shook, his eyes bloodshot as he avoided eye contact, "I-It was alright. H-Hope I'm not late ... "

"Is that Midoriya? Come in."

"Izuku! We're having pork cutlet! Come join us!"

Her parents called out from the dining room, which made Tsuyu suspicious.

"How did you know he was coming?" she asked her parents, rejoining them back at the table while Izuku took his shoes off.

"Inko told us that you had invited him! We thought it would be nice to see him again!"

"Izuku!" Tsuyu's siblings cried out as the boy appeared in the dining room doorway.

"S-Samidare! Satsuki! N-Nice to see you!" smiling, he bowed towards the siblings.

"Boy."

"A-Ah! M-Mr. Asui! M-Mrs. Asui! H-How unexpected!" the boy was bowing so much, and so low, Tsuyu thought he would develop back problems.

"Izuku, it's alright. Have a seat and help yourself-"

"Sit here!" jumping, Izuku followed the older man's suggestion and sat by him.

"How are your studies going, Boy?"

"U-Um, T-Tsuyu's been helping me a lot, a-and I'm doing very well!"

"You better be doing well! You don't have to fight crime to be a hero! If you're diligent in your studies, you can help Tsuyu by making sure she has a place to retire to!"

"E-Eh ... ?!"

"Now, now, Ganma! Izuku's got plenty of time to decide what he wants to do later on! Izuku, Tsuyu really enjoys massages. If you choose to be a massuer, Tsuyu would enjoy that very much!"

"M-Mother!"

"Izuku! Izuku! Stop hogging our sister all to yourself! We don't get to play with her that much anymore!"

"Yeah! Baby her so you can live with us!"

The older members of the group stopped eating, although Izuku had never begun.

The boy was sputtering, not quite able to form anything coherent while the frog girl stared at her siblings in shock and betrayal.

"B-Baby? O-Oh my ... !"

The patriarch of the Asui family didn't say anything at first. Setting his chopsticks down, he slowly turned towards the stock still Izuku.

"Midoriya ..." he took a deep breath, and exhaled, "I don't necessarily approve of you. You're wimpy and cowardly, but for Tsuyu's happiness, I wouldn't mind seeing if I can get you a position in my company-"

"Stop it!" rising from her seat, she quickly grabbed Izuku's hand and took him ino the kitchen, grabbing a bag that was sitting on the counter, "We'll have dinner somewhere else! I'll be back later!"

"Oh, Tsuyu! You already prepared something like that?!" her parents started croaking, looking at the two while smiling.

"Tsuyu's all embarrassed!" her siblings were even croaking at her.

"Ah, don't forget the soy sauce!"

"Forgive my family, Izuku." they left the house, a chorus of croaking was left behind as they exited, "Sometimes, they're a bunch of fools."

* * *

" ... I do like your family, Tsuyu." it had taken a hour of walking, but Izuku was finally able to speak.

" ... I like them too. I think they get the wrong idea about things." she had been aimlessly wandering for a bit, holding the boy's hand, but before she realized it, they were standing at his training area. Izuku had cleared away most of the trash, but there was still a little left.

"I'm impressed, Izuku. Without a quirk, you managed to move all of this stuff." the frog girl looked out to the ocean, surprised how nice it looked without the litter.

"I-It was hard ... but yeah! I guess I'm a little impressed too."

They took a seat on an overturned refrigerator, and Tsuyu took out a bowl for him.

"It's katsudon. Hope you enjoy!"

"T-Thanks, Tsuyu!"

She watched him eat a little of it, smiling.

"Is it any good?"

"Y-Yeah! It's great!"

It didn't take him long to finish, which made Tsuyu regret not bringing more.

"T-T-Thank you for the meal!"

" ... You're welcome, Izuku ... " he jumped when she leaned against him. She could tell he was about to object, but he hesitated.

"A-Aren't you going to eat?"

"I already ate."

"A-Ah ..."

"Izuku ... about what my family said-"

"D-Don't worry about it! I think that, in some way, they're thinking of you."

" ... I was actually going to say that I needed to pick up soy sauce ..."

"Ah ..." fidgeted, clearly embarrassed.

"I'm not sure you should take what they said seriously."

" ... Yeah ... I guess I shouldn't ... "

" ... But I wouldn't mind if you did."

"Huh-?"

"In one month, Izuku, we're going to Yuuei ... " standing up, she started to walk away.

" ... Yeah! T ... Thank you, Tsuyu! Thanks for waiting so long!" she could barely hear him, but she didn't feel like going back to him.

She didn't want him to see her face. She was too embarrassed to go back to him at this point.

" ... Let's go back. We can drop by a store on the way, and Satsuki and Samidare have been wanting to see you for a while."

"A-Alright." he quickly joined her pace and the two left the beach.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **The tags are Drama/Romance, which I took as I can do whatever I want and not worry about how sappy or coincidental things are. Maybe I shouldn't, maybe I should, but I hope it's enjoyable?**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

The weather was unusually cold, forcing Tsuyu to wear her winter clothes. It was February 26th, the day that she had waited in anticipation ever since she learned it was the alma mater of All Might.

Yuuei Academy, or U.A. It wasn't necessarily because of All Might she wished to attend, but rather a combination of wanting to meet her parents expectations as well as becoming a hero with her friend, Izuku.

She had made sure that her siblings had gotten their breakfast, to which they had told her to worry more about Izuku than them.

Her hands shook more than usual. A thought that she had forgotten to add more layers crossed her mind as she waited for the awkward boy to arrive.

It was almost time for the introduction to the exam when Izuku had showed up. He didn't seem to notice her, no doubt trying to absorb every detail of the entrance as he could, until he got past the gates.

"Hey ... Izuku!" she ran to him, trying to hide her nervousness, "It's finally here!"

"T-"

"Don't you dare stand in front of me, Deku!"

Tsuyu looked behind the shaking boy to see Katsuki glaring at the two.

"Katsuki! You look fired up!"

" ... You should stop shaking, Asui! It's not that cold ... !" he grinned at her, and she could only curse his sharp eyes before he glared at Izuku, "And you should go back home, idiot!"

He quickly made his way by them.

"Katsuki ... ! Izuku is allowed to take the exam, just like you!" she turned away from Izuku for a second to try and admonish the boy, but he was already gone.

It was then that Izuku tried to take a step forward, somehow tripping over one of his legs and falling in front of Tsuyu. It was too sudden for her to really react to, but someone had put a hand on him, causing him to hover above the ground.

"Sorry for using my quirk ... !" a girl had stepped in, preventing the boy from meeting the floor in a painful way. She quickly righted Izuku and pressed the tips of her fingers together, letting the boy fall on his feet, "I thought it would have been terrible to fall and hurt yourself!"

Izuku shook as the girl spoke to him, his face burning up.

"Ah, it's no problem. Thanks for the save!" Tsuyu, knowing her friend's inability to speak to girls, thanked the girl on his behalf.

"I can understand why his legs would be shaking so much! I'm nervous myself!" the girl was referring to the way Izuku's legs were shaking, but the reason had probably shifted from the exam to her, "I'm Uraraka Ochako! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Asui Tsuyu, but you can call me Tsuyu. This is Midoriya Izuku." she gently shook the boy's shoulder, making him jump.

"N-N-Nice to m-meet you!" half of his body leaned forward to bow. He was about to fall over, but thankfully, Tsuyu was holding him up enough to stay on his feet.

"It's so exciting to meet new friends, but we gotta go or else we'll be late!"

* * *

Tsuyu enjoyed speaking a little to the bubbly girl. She had an aura that screamed "bright" and was very friendly to both her and Izuku. He didn't speak any, unable to deal with the very likeable girl.

It was fun for the frog girl until she learned that they were giving ID numbers at random to every applicant, so she and the other two were unable to sit or be near each other.

As she sat down, Tsuyu looked for Izuku and the other two. It was easy to spot Ochako, due to whatever it was that made her so cheery. Izuku was found next to Katsuki, which made her feel a little regret at not being able to help the boy with the explosive next to him.

"Welcome, everyone! It's everybody's favorite DJ, Present Mic! Can I get a hey ~!?"

It was possibly the loudest voice she had ever heard. On the stage they all sat before was a man wearing what appeared to be a boombox around his neck. She also noted that it was dead silent to the man's request.

"Well, whatever! I get it! I'm here to tell you all about the exam today! Yeah ~!

Although he was very excitable, he probably wasn't the best one to present the exam. Tsuyu felt a little bad for him, but she was too nervous to go along with his performance, as was everyone else.

In the back, she could hear Izuku mumbling, and it was making her worry for him, seeing as not only Katsuki was being irritated, but a few others she saw around him were affected by it.

"During the practical, you've got a total of ten minutes! Only ten minutes to go and show us what you've got ~! There'll be three robots, or faux villains, that you must take down and their points go from one, two, and three, depending on the difficulty! After this presentation by yours truly, you'll head on over to your designated testing areas!"

"May I ask a question, Proctor!"

One of the examinees stood up with his hand raised high. He was taller than his surrounding participants so he stood out. Tsuyu assumed from his tone, and clothing that he was a bit of a straight-laced character.

"Yes, Examinee #7111?! Ask away!"

"On the handout we were all given, there are no more than four villain types! If this is a mistake, it is unbecoming the most prestigious hero academy in Japan! And you!" he pointed straight at Izuku, who's mumbling had ceased when a question had been asked, "Quit that muttering of yours! Do you think being a hero is a game?! If so, then leave!"

"S-Sorry ... " a few of the examinees near him snickered as the boy shrunk from being berated.

"Great insight, Examinee #7111!" Present Mic brought everyone's attention back to himself, "The fourth faux villain is a gimmick! There's only one in each area and it's worth zero points, so there's re~ally no reason why you should waste time with it! Ever play retro video games? It's an obstacle! Something to avoid while struggling to get points!"

"I see, like a game then!" the boy who asked the question bowed before he sat down, "Thank you for answering my question, sorry for the interruption!"

"Now, if that's all, I'll leave you with our school motto! The great hero, Napoleon Bonaparte, once said "True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life"!"

The man grinned at his silent audience as they awaited the famous U.A. Motto.

* * *

"You! Are you taking this mater seriously or are you hoping to interfere with our exam?!"

Izuku jumped, not expecting the straight-lace from earlier to confront him, gripping one of his shoulders firmly. The shaking boy stuttered as he tried to explain his actions.

The suspicious young man was forced to let go of him when his hand was slapped away.

"Leave him alone. Can't you see he's nervous?"

"And who might you be?!"

"I'm his friend." Tsuyu told him, retracting her tongue, "Looks like their screening process didn't work completely. Believe me, the last thing he wants to do is get in anyone's way."

Izuku quickly made his way to her side, which made her frown slightly at his dependent attitude and some of the other participants to snicker.

Their process had been to assign different ID numbers depending on school attended to keep friends and classmates away, but unfortunately for the examiners, Tsuyu had gone to a different middle school than Izuku, so she had been allowed to take the exam with him.

Their group was assigned site B, and it was large enough to give Tsuyu pause. The site was designed to be an urban city area, with skyscrapers and roads, but nothing save for those two things. The total area of the site was probably more than a few acres, which gave them enough room to spread out and take down the faux villains.

" ... You should tell him to take this a bit more seriously! This is an individual exam! Which could start a-!"

"BEGIN!"

The loud announcement took everyone by surprise, and they stood still for a couple of seconds.

"WHAT'S WRONG?! GET GOING ... !" Present Mic's volume was on another level from the announcement, making everyone shake.

All at once, everyone started running towards the testing area.

Tsuyu turned back to try and keep a tab on Izuku, but skidded to a stop when she saw he wasn't moving.

"Izuku! Hurry!"

The boy jumped, and started to run with all of his might.

It was pitiful sight to the frog girl, and after looking at how far ahead the competition was, she let out a deep sigh.

She picked him up with her tongue and hopped, leaping forward while dragging her shaking friend to an area where she had seen some of the faux villains.

* * *

There were two 1 pointers and a 3 pointer, and she landed heavily on a 1 pointer. The 1 pointers had two arms, with what looked like guns attached to them, and one wheel to support their bodies. The 3 pointer had tank treads for back legs and two arms to support it. There were large, rocket pods attached to its back.

The 3 pointer took aim and launched rockets at them. Tsuyu tossed Izuku to the other 1 pointer, and after quickly calculating the trajectory of the rockets, she hopped onto one of the rockets.

It was an short, unsteady ride, but she sent it back at the faux villain while jumping onto another rocket. Her projectile reached the villain in less than a second, exploding, and she decided to take the opportunity to finish it off. Hopping off of the rocket she was on, she drop kicked the robot in what she thought was its face. Luckily, it turned off as she hit it, and it slumped to the ground as she jumped backwards.

Landing back on her feet, she looked to see Izuku running away from the faux villain.

"You have to defeat it, Izuku! It only looks tough, but it's actually flimsy!"

After rolling away from the robot, he turned to her, his face filled with fear. The faux villain swung its arm at him, sending his head into the ground, and shortly after that, some of the rockets from the defeated 3 pointer crashed down, exploding around her and the boy.

Guarding her face from the dust, she saw her friend picking himself up as the robot tried to roll over him.

Sending out her tongue, it whacked the faux villain's head off, giving her another point.

"Izuku ... !" dashing over to him, Tsuyu quickly checked for any serious injuries. He was okay, but time was running out.

"You have to fight! I ... I'll take us to more of them!" wrapping her tongue around his waist, she jumped further into the arena, where more of their fellow participants were.

Nine minutes and twenty seconds left. She tried her best to keep the current timer in mind.

* * *

There were a few participants taking down 3 pointers together, and some were decimating the 1 pointers.

She was lucky to find a 2 pointer away from the crowd. It had four long legs with guns attached to its front. It's main weapon seemed to be the tail that extended above its head.

At first, she thought the tail would extend, but instead, it shot out a laser that hit her shoulder. It stung, but it wasn't so much that she would be hindered by it.

Sliding under it, she let Izuku go near the side of the faux villain.

"Come on, Izuku! Let's take it down!"

It turned its head, but its body was slow. It had to take a step with two of its legs at one time in order to turn even a little bit.

Her friend didn't respond, and before the robot could take aim with its forward guns, she jumped over it, wrapping her tongue around its neck and pulling, forcing it on its side.

" ... Now! Izuku ... !"

He ran over to its underside as its legs flailed helplessly. A 1 pointer was rolling towards him, but it disappeared behind the 2 pointer's body, and she heard Izuku let out a pained cry.

Stomping on the 2 pointer's head, she hopped over its body and quickly smacked the 1 pointer's head with her tongue, destroying it.

Eight minutes and fifty seconds left.

Izuku was panting and holding his side. While he was getting up, he was wincing and Tsuyu stared at the 1 pointer's body.

"Izuku." he looked up at her, her face hidden by her hair.

" ... What are you doing?"

"T-Tsuyu ... ha ... I-I'm still-"

"Was being a hero a game to you?"

She refused to look at him, but she knew it must have hurt.

Because it hurt her.

"W-What? N-No! Tsuyu, I-!"

"Then what are you doing?! You need to take these robots down if you want to pass!"

He looked at the faux villain's bodies, the 1 pointer already dwarfing him and the 2 pointer being taller than a semi-trailer truck.

She grimly wondered about how he was to even take one of them down.

"I ... !"

"That straight-laced guy was right, Izuku! Everyone here ... ! Everyone is doing their best!"

Keeping her face as expressionless as possible, she stared at his grimacing face.

"Didn't ... you want us to be heroes, together?!"

Eight minutes and twenty four seconds left.

"Tsuyu ... " he looked stunned. His skin pale and tears forming in his eyes.

"Come on!" she quickly turned away, wrapping her tongue around him once more, "We still need to get points!"

* * *

Eight minutes and ten seconds.

Izuku rammed a 1 pointer, but it brushed him off while Tsuyu crushed its head with a kick.

Seven minutes and forty seconds.

A 3 pointer's shoulders were lifted off of its body and came crumbling down.

Seven minutes and fifteen.

She pulled Izuku away from a 1 pointer that was shooting at him, and used the momentum to land on its body, ending it.

Seven minutes and three.

She had to pull Izuku out from under a few 1 pointers that had tried to dogpile him, and quickly destroyed them.

Six minutes and fifty seconds.

Tsuyu panted loudly as panic took hold of her. Izuku had sustained a few more injuries and so had she. Her point total was about fifteen or so.

Izuku's was zero. The robots were too tough for him, and built well enough to prevent the boy from reaching their insides.

" ... This isn't good ... !" she muttered as the other competitors took out the faux villains. By now, they had developed their own strategies to take down the villains, and they were thinning out.

She turned, looking at her friend, and when he looked at her, he stiffened up. Looking away, he winced and held his side.

"I'm dragging you down ... "

"What?!" her reply had come out a little sharper than she had intended, and he shook.

" ... I'm sorry ... !" he ran off.

"W-Wait! Izu-!"

A 1 pointer rounded the corner, and almost tackled her. About to destroy it, dust was kicked up into her face as something shot through it and sent it into the ground.

"Sorry, mademoiselle! And thank you for the assist!" a boy who sparkled a lot ran by her, giving her a brief smile before hunting more of the faux villains.

He had taken it out in a second, was what had come to Tsuyu's mind. Izuku's form as he tried to even dent one was still burned freshly into her memory.

Izuku had fled, and she had to find him.

Six minutes and five seconds.

* * *

Five minutes.

She had taken out a few faux villains on the way. Their arms were weak enough for her legs to break right through their joints, and they were unsteady on whatever support they had. Knocking one over wasn't too hard, especially if she used one of those 3 pointer's rockets.

Ochako and the straight-lace were nearby. Even if he was a bit forceful, the straight-lace was dedicated to his fighting style and systematically took out the faux villains with his strengthened legs and speed, while Ochako only had to touch them to render them helpless.

There was a boy with a strong tail that could easily crush the robots with a swing, a boy that sprouted more arms from his back and destroyed the villains easily before quickly finding more, a boy that controlled that shadows to attack the targets with ease.

And Izuku being helplessly shoved aside by a 1 pointer was still in her head.

Tsuyu landed on a 3 pointer's head, tearing it off of its neck. It landed with a thud with her on top of it.

Looking down at it, she realized how easily she had been taking them down, before she stomped it into the ground.

Unfair. It was something she thought as she saw everyone proceeding through the test without too much difficulty. It was something that was beginning to bother her greatly as she searched for her friend.

Four minutes and thirty seconds.

A loud rumbling shook the whole area. Tsuyu almost lost her balance as something she had once thought was a building moved.

It was the gimmick, the zero, the fourth faux villain.

And it was coming right down towards her and the other competitors in the area.

* * *

Three minutes and twelve seconds. Before she knew it, the time was running out.

Everyone started to panic as this impossible thing started towards them. Tsuyu was about to jump away when she saw something horrifying.

Ochako had fallen in front of the gimmick, wincing as she tried to pick herself up, but she seemed trapped.

The girl was surprised when Tsuyu dropped by her, helping remove her foot from the destroyed road, and shoot her tongue out at the closest possible thing she could use to get away.

As they were pulling away, the frog girl felt her scarf catch onto something, almost choking her and forcing her to stop their escape. Looking back, she saw that her scarf had caught onto debris that the machine had made when it appeared.

It was reaching down for the two. Tsuyu had freed the scarf from the debris, and was about to escape, except a great gust of wind from behind her prevented her from moving.

And Izuku was screaming above her.

Looking up, she saw the boy flying towards the worthless gimmick, his fist cocked back.

"SM-!" he punched, "-ASH!"

The machine's head violently blew backwards, the front of it completely smashed to pieces, falling on top of the structures behind it. The faux villains crawled out from under it, seemingly unharmed by the behemoth, but there were a few more explosions coming from the useless wreckage.

Tsuyu stared at Izuku in awe, bewildered by the power he had, but quickly realized that he was now plummeting towards the ground at an insane rate.

Hoping she would make it, she shot her tongue out at where she predicted he would be, managing to catch him, but the distance was almost at her limit, and he was still falling.

Pulling upwards on her tongue, Tsuyu started to lose her balance, and was forced to grab at whatever she could so she could prevent her friend from any further injury.

Struggling, she barely kept him from hitting the ground, and putting in all the strength she had left, pulled the boy over to her.

It was a little too hard, as he smacked right into her, and she briefly held him as tight as she could.

Or she would have, if his arm didn't feel funny to her. Pulling away, she looked at why it felt off.

She had never seen so much blood before in her life. It seeped from his arm and she thought something was protruding from his elbow.

"I-Izuku?!" it was getting harder to breathe.

With the boy's head on her chest, she could see blood slowly seeping from his pant legs. The legs themselves didn't look right, and she knew that they were actually bent sideways at the knees.

Her vision was starting to blur and darken.

"J-Just one ...! " he spoke up suddenly, and she noticed that he was breathing heavily.

Or he could have been breathing that way the entire time, it was difficult to focus for the frog girl.

"I ... need ... at least one ... !" he was crying.

Suddenly, she realized how much time they had left.

Zero.

"IT'S ALL-!" he looked up, and his eyes widened, "-OVER!"

" ... no ... !" his pupils shook, staring into Tsuyu's. His tears were slowing down, and he continued to stare at her until he slowly slumped over onto her.

* * *

She sat there for a long time, unaware of what was going on around her.

"Hey, good job there, missy, but scoot over a little!"

Tsuyu didn't move, but the lips that shot out past her and touching Izuku's head was more than enough to get her to be startled.

His arm and his legs slowly moved back into place, and looking at his arm, it was no longer the grotesque mess that it had been.

The lips retracted and Tsuyu saw that it was a little old lady in a nurse's coat. She moved over to some of the other participants and did the same for them. Listening in on the conversations around her, the lady was Recovery Girl, the hero with a super recovery power.

There were also conversations about Izuku, but they were mostly surprised or derogatory reactions, which gave the frog girl mixed feelings.

"Escort the injured!"

A tiny pair of robots rolled up to her, and put a stretcher down.

"Escort the injured-!" they tried to take Izuku away from her, and they were stared at before her tongue slipped slightly out of her mouth.

"Woah, hey there!" Recovery girl poked her with the cane she held, "Let them take the boy to the nurse's office! The exam's over already!"

Reluctantly, she slowly set the boy on the stretcher herself, and the robots took him away.

A sharp pain shot through her chest when he was taken away. Standing still, she clenched the front of her coat, but something shook her.

"Hey, Tsuyu! Are you okay?" Ochako was shaking Tsuyu's shoulder, "When your scarf got caught, it looked super painful ... "

"I'm fine." her voice was raspier than she thought it was, and now she felt the burning in her throat.

" ... Midoriya, he ... didn't get any points? Wasn't he with you?"

The cheery girl looked unusual with that worried sort of look on her face.

" The targets ... were too tough."

"Really? I mean, didn't you see that punch?! It was like, "Pow"!"

"His arm was bust-" a hoarse, painful cough erupted from her throat.

"You needed healing, didn't ya, dearie?" Tsuyu felt something moist on her cheek, "There you go! All better, I imagine!"

" ... Excuse me, Recovery Girl?" the frog girl prevented the hero from moving on, "Are we allowed to visit the Nurse's office?"

"Sorry, you can't. Off limits for now." the hero left to heal more of the participants.

" ... Maybe we can petition for Midoriya to get some points? I think, well, he saved our lives, so maybe we can give him some of ours?"

" ... Yeah."

* * *

After she and Ochako made their plea, Tsuyu waited outside the gates for Izuku. Now that the test was over, the teenagers had left the area and she was the only one left.

The test started in the morning, ended in the afternoon, and it was only half a hour since then, but it was a very long wait.

Izuku stumbled out of the building, and upon seeing her near the gates, he trudged over without lifting his eyes from the ground.

" ... Izuku."

He rubbed the back of his head, refusing to look at her.

"I ... don't even know where to begin. H-How did you do that?"

" ... I manifested a quirk. I-It's not too unreasonable, seeing as quirks are a mystery to begin with, but now I have one and ... " Izuku was about to enter his mumble mode, but it seemed that the day was tiring for the both of them.

"And your arm?" she touched his arm, causing him to flinch, "Your legs?"

" ... They're alright now ... Recovery Girl's quirk healed me, but it's a little sore."

"When were you going to tell me?" she regretted asking him the question after seeing him cringe.

"I-I didn't really know a good time to tell you."

All Might. The only person who had that kind of power was All Might, but it broke her friend's body when he tried to wield the great hero's strength. He must have passed the quirk down to Izuku sometime before the exam.

"I-It's okay, Izuku. It's been a rough day. I'll walk you-"

"Tsuyu ... " she tried pulling his arm to make him walk, but he stood still.

" ... What is it?"

" ... I'm sorry ... "

She stared at the boy that desperately hid his gaze from her.

"I'm really sorry ... after all the work you and everyone else went through ... I ... I blew it ... ! I failed you-!"

"You're ... apologizing?"

"Y-Yeah ... " sniffing loudly, he wiped his face with his free arm, "I ... I must look really pathetic right now ... ! After coming so far, with everyone's help, I still ... ! I couldn't-!"

"Stop it!" Tsuyu interrupted him, hugging him tightly while burying her head in his chest, "You have nothing to apologize for! N-Nothing!"

"W-What are you-?"

"A-All those mean things I said ...! I-I knew how h-hard you were working!" it was quite sudden, but she thought his shirt was a lot more drenched than she thought it had been, "And still ...! I still said those things ... !"

A few strangled croaks squeezed through her throat as the surprised boy calmed down, putting a hand on her head.

" ... Tsuyu ... you were only trying to help-"

"W-What kind of he-!" another croak interrupted her, "-help is that?! I messed ... ! I messed up your whole ex-exam!"

" ... That's not true." she shamefully enjoyed the warmth he emitted, "Everything you did, everything you said, was all to help me and I know that. You've always been like that, Tsuyu ..."

Another cry made its way through her lips as he began to caress the top of her head.

"I couldn't do anything to the robots." the memory of the others easily taking down the faux villains popped into her head, "It's not your fault that I was too weak-"

"No ... !" she tightened her grip, trying to stop him.

"That sort of thing ... I kinda expected it. A hero is defined by their quirk-"

"Stop it ... !" he didn't seem to understand, or chose not to listen to her.

"It's reasonable, isn't it? It's too dangerous for someone who can't even fight a mindless robot to fight dangerous criminals ... "

" ... It's unfair ... !"

" ... It's alright. Even ... if I don't become a hero, Kachan is def-"

Tsuyu brought a hand down onto his chest, thumping it loudly and making him stumble a bit, although she still clung to him.

"T-Tsuyu-?!"

"Don't talk ... as if you're not going to be a hero!" she hit him again, "After everything you've done! Everything that's happened ... !"

"B-But I-"

"At the end, Uraraka and I were trapped, and what was it that you did?!"

" ... I didn't-"

"What did you do, Izuku?!" she pulled away from him, staring into his eyes.

His eyes were red, and dirt matted his hair and face along with some of his blood from their exam.

" ... It was scary, but it was scarier thinking about what would have happened to you. I ... I took a chance, and I did what I felt was right."

She felt a wetness under her eyes, thinking about what had happened throughout the day. What he had done, and what had been done to him.

"How ... can I not call you a hero?!" muttering, she hugged him again, making sure he couldn't see her face or her tears, "My hero ... !"

It must have been too low for him to hear the last bit, at least, Tsuyu told that to herself as she held the silent boy.

* * *

It had been a week since the exam. The letter had yet to arrive for the frog girl, but it had been one of the darkest moments of her life.

Whether or not her friend would be with her as a hero was something she had dreaded since she was a child. It was her dream, her nightmare, and it had become more distressing with each passing day while she waited for some news about the exam.

It was cold, even colder than the exam day when the letter had finally arrived. Her siblings were safely nestled in their rooms, sleeping through the cold. Blissfully and childishly unaware of their sister's plight as she retreated to her own room to open the letter.

The letter contained a holo-recorder, something she had never really seen before. It felt surreal as the news she had dreaded was contained within such a small device.

Pressing the button, it played its message.

"Hello?! Is this thing on?!" a familiar face and strong voice greeted her, "Hello, Asui Tsuyu! It is I! All Might! How are you feeling?! Excited?! Nervous?! Then wait no more, for I will tell you the results!"

Dressed in a bright golden suit, the hero seemed like an announcer on a game show as he stood atop a stage made for performers.

"With an outstanding practical score of twenty five, and a rescue score of fifty, you have certainly passed the practical exam!" giving a thumbs up, he grinned broadly at her through the hologram, "Good job!"

He pulled a packet of papers out which she recognized as the written portion of the exam.

"And this! This is definitely a surprise! A full score on the written! This along with the practical, guarantee your passing! Congratulations ... ! U.A will gladly accept a future hero such as yourself with arms opened wide ... !"

It was small, but she felt joy blossom in her heart. Her efforts had been rewarded, but being a student at U.A was not as important as the matter of her friend's results.

"Don't touch that dial!" the hero surprised her when she tried to turn the device off, "Your performance was exceptional, no doubt, but there's a tiny issue that we noticed ... !"

Taking a remote out from his pocket, the camera was directed towards a screen on the wall.

It turned on, showing a scene from the practical portion. Her dragging Izuku to the city area to gain points.

"Normally, friends are separated from each other to prevent assistance, but it seems that we overlooked a certain froggy girl from helping a slightly hapless lad!"

She destroyed the robots as Izuku flailed about. It showed her saying those terrible words, and on the screen, Tsuyu was horrified at the expression she had shown him.

"We awarded a certain number of rescue points due to this unexpected event, but it was on us to prevent this sort of thing, so we gave you a bit more!"

He looked so helpless to her. The boy did his best, and it wasn't enough. It wasn't anything that would give him any points.

"Throughout the entire exam, you continued to aid this boy!"

On the screen, it showed Izuku talking to her, covered in wounds.

The her on the screen turned and glared at him, staring at the boy with utter frustration.

And something tore away inside her, making tears come to her eyes.

"And even after all that assistance, you petitioned for him to receive some of your points, along with another friend!"

The video cut to when she and Ochako had talked with Present Mic after the exam, asking if the boy could get some of their points for helping them.

" ... Needless to say, that request ... " the great hero turned his back to the camera, " ... has been DENIED ... !"

Her hands dropped down to the desk to prevent her from falling, but they couldn't hold her knees and she fell to the floor.

"With a practical score of zero capture points, the probability of not passing is almost certain!"

Not a single point, and it hurt. Trying his best and failing, hurt. And how she acted during the exam, how she had spoken to him, hurt Tsuyu terribly.

"S-Sis?" one of her siblings peeked into the room, "I-Is everything alright ... ?"

" ... GO to him." All Might spoke to her through the device, "Asui ... from what we've seen, he needs you now, if we're mistaken, then we apologize, but if you're his friend, it would be best if he had you nearby."

It turned off, and she weakly stood up.

Samidare was at the door, with Satsuki clinging to his back.

"Y-You were screaming, Sis ... "

"I have to go." she opened the door wider, so she wouldn't brush her family aside, "I'll be back in a bit."

"Is ... is it about Izuku? Did he make you cry?" Satsuki looked close to tears herself, "You look really sad ... "

" ... It's not his fault. I'm sorry for worrying you." Tsuyu hugged them, trying to hide her pain but she knew that it was too late, "I'm going to him right now."

"Did you get into that school? Is Izuku going with you?" their questions followed her as she slowly left the house.

It was raining hard, and even it couldn't elevate her mood.

" ... I don't know."

* * *

Her friend didn't live too far away, but it wasn't so close that she could run there within a hour.

Instead, she hopped through the rain, landing on the rooftops and violating the "No quirks in public" law, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered more than being with him as soon as possible.

It didn't take her long, and she didn't get caught by any of the resident hero or police squads, but when she got to Izuku's apartment, she saw Toshinori walking away from the complex, trudging through the rain without an umbrella.

Tsuyu stood in front of apartment, waiting to try and collect herself before she knocked on the door.

"Y-Yes?! Who is it?!" the door slowly opened up, and Izuku's mother peeked around the door, her makeup running down her cheeks, "T-Tsuyu?! What are you doing out there all drenched?!"

"Hiya ... Mrs. Midoriya." she tried, she really did, but her voice was monotonous, "Is ... Izuku in?"

"Y-Yes! He just got the letter from U.A!" the older lady led her inside, quickly guiding her to a chair while going to the bathroom.

Tsuyu stared at Izuku's door, managing to hear some muffled words from All Might. He must have turned the device on.

"T-Tsuyu ... ! What are you wearing?! And it's all wet and ... Izuku won't be able to, well, here."

Izuku's mother dried off her hair, and draped the towel around her shoulders.

"Really ... I sat you in front of the table but you're just as n-nervous as I am!" she muttered to herself as they both stood in front of the boy's door.

It took longer than her letter was, or it felt longer. They both stood still in front of the door, awaiting Izuku's reaction.

The door opened, Izuku appeared before her eyes and she leapt onto him.

"Wh-What?! T-T-Tsu-!" the boy tried to speak, but his face inflamed and words were difficult for him.

"Asui!" she would have sworn that the holo-recorder was actually a live feed if she didn't know the actual All Might was walking away, "If you're there, I would like to congratulate you! It takes guts to do what you've done, and guts is something that we appreciate in our line of work! Getting points is one thing, getting a high score is another, but risking it all for someone special to you ... does not go unnoticed!"

The All Might on the hologram smiled wider, making the frog girl wonder if he had planned this all from the start.

"You did what you could, but you also went further than that! As you two will learn here at U.A, that's our motto!"

While Izuku's mother cried happily behind her while the boy was having a heart attack beneath her, Tsuyu stared at one of the scariest entertainers she had ever seen give her a thumbs up.

"PLUS ... !" she would have revealed his secret if she wasn't so happy, " ... ULTRA!"

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **A list of things I want to say: I don't know anything about women's clothing, I think there might be a ton of commas and breaks, and the sitting position later on is sort of like a half sit up.**

 **School started, so updates will be few and far.**

 **Edited the chapter a little, fixing little things here and there. There's probably a million errors, so if you see any, please let me know through review or PM.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

It was a week before school would start, and Tsuyu thought to fill the time by spending some time with her friends. Her parents agreed, happy that their daughter had been accepted by U.A, so they told her they would throw a party for her.

All she had to do was find some people to invite.

"Hey, hey!" the girl waved her arms excitedly at Tsuyu, "I'm so glad you invited me out! I was totally doing nothing!"

"I'm glad that you accepted!" giving Ochako a smile, she walked with the girl to a cafe she knew of, "School will start next week, so I wanted to get to know one of my classmates."

"Aw ... I'm so happy! It's been kinda lonely at the dorms! Do you live nearby?"

"I live in Aichi, but I'm close enough to take the train here."

Arriving at the cafe, Ochako seemed troubled and nervous as she saw the cute signs.

"Um ... I'm not sure that I can eat ... I mean, if you wanted to walk around and stuff, that's fine cause it's free-"

"My dad gave me some money, so it's my treat."

"In that case, let's go!" rushing into the cafe, Ochako was close to drooling at the drinks and desert selections.

* * *

The cake Ochako ordered was tasty looking, but Tsuyu preferred her coffee jelly. It was delightful as she savored the sweetness that filled her mouth.

"Woah ... you just ate that thing in one go! Incredible!" an amazed Ochako stared at her, her green tea in her hands.

It was very tempting to reply, but the frog girl was currently enamored with the jelly.

"Um ... Tsuyu? Are you alright? It looks like you're sleeping."

" ... Sorry about that." swallowing, she ended the pleasurable experience prematurely, "I really like jelly. It's the texture that makes me crazy about it."

"Really? I thought you downed it like a champ, ready to order another one! Didn't know that you were enjoying yours- oh! You were taking your time!"

The bubbly girl was starting to panic for a bit. Tsuyu shook her head, feeling a little guilty for saying too much.

"That's not the case! I know it's a little difficult to tell what I'm feeling, due to my quirk. On that note, would you like to talk about them?"

"Your feelings," Ochako, who had cheered up faster than Tsuyu thought she would, was eating her cake, "or quirks? I'm much better about talking about the last one."

"Quirks. Mine's Frog-Form. I can pretty much do everything a frog can, though some take that as I'm all frog and no girl."

"But, you don't look like a frog?"

"Obvious one is my tongue." pointing to her tongue, which was currently hanging limply outside her mouth, lethargic due to a severe lack of jelly available to it, "Another one would be my mouth. You can't really tell, but my tongue is in front of my teeth."

She paused, seeing that Ochako was waiting for her to open her mouth.

" ... I'm not going to show you that one. Needless to say, my lips are kinda bigger than a normal girl's."

"Okay, but it's super strong isn't it? A frog's tongue, I think, could lift things bigger than its body! Have you tried it out?!"

"I can lift about three hundred, three hundred and a half."

"That's super cool! It's so useful, and cute too!"

"My tongue is ... cute?"

"Yeah!" Tsuyu noted that her cake was gone, probably a short while before the conversation started, "You know, the kind of cute that makes guys fall for you! They're all like, "man, I'd love to have a girl with a long tongue like Tsuyu!" or something!"

"I don't know if I'd feel comfortable if that's how they thought of me ... "

"Same for your lips! They'd say the same thing!"

"Ochako, may I call you that?"

"Sure! I don't mind!"

"Thank you. Ochako, calm down."

"Eh?" the girl was taken aback.

"You're shouting out loudly how guys would love to date someone with my lips and tongue."

Looking around, Ochako seemed to realize that they had quite a few eyes on them.

"A-Ah ... I see ... "

"Here, let's walk for a bit, is that fine?"

"Y-Yeah ... "

* * *

Outside was a bit cold, so while they walked, she stayed a little close to Ochako. The girl didn't seem to mind, or probably didn't think about how close she was. Truly, a friendly person.

"The cold is something of a weakness to me. See, I'm actually cold blooded."

"Woah!" she sounded genuinely impressed, "You mean, like lizards and stuff?!"

"Yep. So I need to be warm, or I start drifting off."

"So that's why you were so close to me!" it seems she did notice.

"Sorry about that."

"No, no! Don't worry about it! I already think of us as friends!"

"A-Already?" it was a little shocking to hear it so directly.

"Yeah, I really like you, Tsuyu! You're so cool, and friendly! During the exam, and right now, I'm really, really glad that I met you!" the girl exclaimed loudly, her cheeks a charming shade of red.

" ... You do say some embarrassing things, don't you?"

"E-Eh?! Is ... is it alright to be fri-"

"Of course it is! You're my friend, Ochako!" she took the girl's arm and linked it with hers, "Just let me do this for now. It's really cold."

The other girl giggled as they kept walking down the street aimlessly.

* * *

"You still didn't tell me what your quirk was."

"I didn't, did I? Well, I can make the gravity of an object zero! I have to touch it though with these pads on my fingers!"

The girl showed her other hand, and she saw the little pink pad on the tips of her fingers and thumb.

"Is that so?" searching with her hand, she tried to touch one of the pads.

"T-Tsuyu?! What are you-?!"

Suddenly, Tsuyu felt herself float up, and knew she had found one of the pads.

"Uoough ... skill ... release ... !" letting go of the frog girl, she touched the tips of her fingers together and Tsuyu dropped down on her feet.

" ... That was an impressive groan you let out there-"

"Y-Yeah ... I get a little nauseous when I use it. It's really not a cute ability at all ... " rubbing her head, the girl was ashamed. Probably from the guttural groan.

"Still, you remove the weight of an object. Forget about my tongue, you can lift almost anything!"

"Three tons."

"Hm?"

"I can lift, at most, three tons. Anything more than that ..." Ochako lost her bright aura, and was instead letting off a rather nervous one.

"I see ... it must have been awful."

"Yeah ... it was bad."

* * *

Continuing their walk, they started heading back to the train station.

"Oh yeah, that boy! The plain one! Um ... Midoriya! Do you know what happened to him?"

"He passed, thankfully."

"Oh, really?!" Ochako let loose a sigh of relief, "That was pretty impressive back there too! He completely smashed that robot! It was s~o cool! I'm glad that he passed! Do you think he'll be in our class!"

"Our class? We might not be-"

"It's our class, Tsuyu! There's no way we wouldn't be in the same class! No way!" it seemed the girl was trying to convince herself that her opinion would become reality. Not to say that Tsuyu herself didn't want to be in her class, but it might not happen.

" ... I hope he's with us. There's one person I wouldn't want him to be alone with."

"You know someone else that took the exam?"

"Yes, his name's Bakugou Katsuki. He's another ... friend, but he fights with Izuku all the time."

"Oh ... poor guy! But he'll be alright, won't he? He's got that super strength!"

"He can't control it. It broke his body last time."

"Oh ... yeah. Why is that? Do you know?"

"His quirk breaks his body every time he uses it. There's not much chance to practice a power that breaks bones."

"That makes sense, I guess! He's in U.A now! They might know how to make it so he doesn't hurt himself!"

" ... I sure hope so."

"Well, I'm headed home now, Tsuyu! Thank you so much for inviting me out today!" the girl's bright aura was beginning to grow to dangerous to Tsuyu, almost enveloping her and making her eyes hurt.

"It's alright, really! Ah, I'm having a party before school starts, so if you would like to come-"

"Really?! It that really alright?!" this was bad. That aura was starting to look lethal, "I would love to come! O~h ... I'm so happy I met you!"

She gave Tsuyu a sudden hug, and the frog girl was starting to lose it.

"O-Ochako!"

"It was super lonely here by myself! Living in that small dorm room and doing nothing! I thought that it would be really hard to go to U.A, but if you're there, I think I can make it!"

"I-It's alright! Don't worry about it! I'll send you more information later! You're ... going to miss your train!"

"Alright! See you later, Tsuyu ... !" tears in her eyes while she ran, Ochako managed to get onto her train before it left, and she waved at the frog girl through the window until she was out of sight.

Tsuyu sighed deeply, seeing that there were more eyes on her because of the exchange. The brightness of Ochako was dangerous for someone like her, and it might have been a secret weapon or something. At least, that's what she thought before heading home.

* * *

"So, you've already made a new friend at U.A?"

Habuko was another person Tsuyu wanted to invite over, but she was also starting high school next week, so it might've been a bad idea to invite her out.

"Yep. Her name's Uraraka Ochako. She's very ... bright. Kind too, but she talks without thinking first."

"Sounds like the opposite of you, Tsuyu. That would be interesting, seeing a thoughtless girl with one that thinks too much."

There was a large crowd in their way, which was unusual because she wasn't aware of any event in the area.

"Tch ... I see." pointing at a nearby sign, Habuko started to glare at the crowd, "It's a buncha All Might nerds. Some sort of convention, celebrating his start as a U.A teacher. You're going to be taught by a guy like that? Looks kinda tacky."

"He's a good guy. A bit awkward, but understandable because he hasn't taught before."

"Sounds like you already know him ... "

"I think we can get through there." Habuko sighed as the frog girl started to walk towards an opening in the crowd, ignoring her previous comment.

"Couldn't these people find a better area?!" it was a dense crowd, and the snake girl was becoming upset at the people wearing All Might paraphernalia, "Seriously! There are people trying to wa-!"

Tsuyu heard her friend gasp as she bumped into someone. Turning, she saw that Habuko had accidentally knocked over one of the fans.

"Hey, asshole! How about you grow some ey- Midoriya?!"

"M-Mongoose?! T-Tsuyu?! What are you two doing here?" the boy picked himself up quickly, trying to look presentable in his All Might robe with a bag filled with All Might stuff, wearing an All Might backpack filled with All Might merchandise.

" ... Izuku, are you really wasting your time here-?"

"T-This isn't what it looks like!" he lifted up a notebook that he had been writing in, "There's a villain over in this area and I happened to be here, and well, there were ... some things that I wanted, but I was mostly here cause of my hobby, you know?! An-"

"Okay." his mumbling didn't help his pitful excuse as he avoided eye contact with the two, "Who would attack an All Might convention? Are there any heroes nearby?"

"There's Mount Lady, but with this many people, it would be difficult ... we should be safe as long as we stay away from the villain!"

"So, this crowd is only because some clown wearing a suit is throwing a tantrum? How lame!"

"Well, the villain is called Masacrate, and his quirk seems to be to turn anything into a box! He didn't really make demands, and just started to box people up ..."

"The hell kind of quirk is that? How is that supposed to work?"

"Like this!" Tsuyu felt something push her forward, toppling over the boy, and then their vision was robbed from them.

* * *

"Tsuyu!" her friend's voice was muffled from the box that had encased her and the boy. There was a loud commotion as people started to panic around them at the sudden appearance of the villain.

"Boxes! This is all I can do, you know?! They're nigh indestructible, can be any size you want, and I can make a ton of them, but nobody wants my incredible boxes!" the villain was screaming loudly in despair, "So you're going to take them! You're getting a box too!"

Habuko started screaming, causing Tsuyu to try and escape, but it seemed impossible.

"Get away, you creep!" it seemed as though the girl was running away, and Tsuyu assumed that everyone else had tried to escape the villain.

"Alright, Izuku. Looks like we have to get out of here."

The boy was panting, his breaths were wet and hot on her face. The box was small, too small to move around in, but it was large enough so they weren't smushed together uncomfortably. At least, not to her.

"Do something about your breathing. We don't know if we have enough air or not."

"Y-Yes!"

Moving around was hard, and as she discovered, she had somehow become tangled in Izuku's limbs. She noted absently how soft he felt through his clothes.

"Is there anything you can grab onto?"

"N-No! There's nothing!"

" ... Move your hands, Izuku."

She could feel him freeze, and slowly, she felt his hands grasp her lower back and something a bit lower.

"It's alright. We were forced in this situation. I won't blame you for anything."

As an experiment, she tried opening and closing her own hands, and they both grasped something soft, eliciting a fear filled gasp from the boy.

"Are you okay?"

"T-That's dangerous ...!"

"Why?"

"P-Please don't d-do that again!"

The air was getting very warm, a somewhat welcome change from the cold winter air outside. Her head was starting to feel funny, and Izuku's shaking sent tremors through her body.

"Alright ... let's calm down a bit and see if we can get this box off of us."

Moving her hands slowly, she couldn't help it if he squeaked a little as she tried to free herself.

That was the plan, until one of her elbows hit something fleshy.

"What was that?"

"My c-calf ..." he seemed more subdued, but she still couldn't see anything. What little air they had was starting to become saturated with his scent, and with each breath she took, his taste would fill her mouth.

"Where are your limbs right now?"

"M-My knees are near the top, I think."

She had assumed too much. Being taller than her, the box was a bit too small for him length-wise, so what she thought was his chest was probably a little lower.

"I'll try backing up."

Once again, she tried to do something but the box was too narrow, and his legs were in the way. She would try again, but despite his silence, she could tell he was starting to hurt.

"Backwards is no good, so forward it is."

"W-Wait! Is it really necessary to move around so much?!" panicked, Izuku's trembling increased with each move she made, "C-Can't we wait for someone to take the box off?!"

" ... It's a bit uncomfortable. I'm moving again, Izuku."

It was easier going forward than backwards. Sliding forward, the top of her head was able to reach what she thought was his chin.

" ... It's kinda tight ..." her sides had brushed along his legs as she moved. At first, he had tensed up, causing some pain, but he relaxed as much as he could to allow her through.

"T-Tsuyu ... !" she could feel the sweat that seeped from his clothes. She felt him breathing on her hair. His arms were tensed up and at her shoulders, and she thought he was trying to lift the box up.

"Can you push this thing off of us?"

" ... I can't control my quirk well enough for that ... but I'll try lifting it. "

He tried, and his arms started to press against her sides, causing a cry to come from her throat.

"S-Sorry!"

"I-It's okay. It was a bit unexpected." his arms were thicker than she remembered, and as he relaxed, they were very cushiony.

They waited a little while longer, but Tsuyu was starting to feel very unsettled. She was starting to snuggle into his warm clothes, and his heartbeat could be heard from his chest.

"If ... " since she was slowly falling asleep, she jumped a little when he spoke, "If only I could control my quirk ... "

"It's alright. I'm sure we'll get out of here soon." she settled again into her spot, listening to his heart.

He stiffened as she sighed, letting out a slow and soft croak.

* * *

Luckily, by the time the box was lifted off of them, there was still a lot of air left. It was a little weird until she saw that the box was very long, but she had been trapped between Izuku's legs and he was propped up on top of his All Might backpack filled with merchandise.

Mount Lady, who Tsuyu immediately recognized due to her size, was the one that had freed them. It seemed that the villain had been caught by her backup, Kamui of the Woods.

With some reluctance, Tsuyu lifted herself off of the boy and helped him stand. The merchandise that he had was a little smashed, but she didn't think it was too important.

"T-Thank you for the help!" Izuku must have had a back of steel as he bowed to the gigantic lady after having stayed cooped up in that box for some time.

"Jeez, how many more of them did you make?!" the hero ignored the boy and was instead directing anger to the man that was covered in black boxes.

"I dunno! I think some of them are in alleys and stuff!" the villain seemed very cooperative, even though he was wrapped up in branches.

"Come on, Mount Lady. We still have a lot more work to do."

"Tch! You're only happy cause you're going to be on the front page today!"

"Yes! Free publicity!"

"Shut up, you!" they both yelled at Masacrate, "You're the reason why we have to do this!"

As they left, Tsuyu was suddenly hugged by another girl.

"God, I was so worried, Tsuyu! That creeper was chasing me all over, and then I used my quirk to stop him and Kamui came swooping down and- wait ... you smell weird ..."

"Do I?" she put a finger to her lips as Habuko moved away.

"Yeah, you're all sweaty and stuff too. What happened in there?"

"Nothing. Izuku and I sat still and waited to be freed."

The snake girl glanced over at the boy, causing him to redden and struggle to reply.

" ... Sure. Whatever. You wanna ditch Midoriya and go shopping?"

"Hm ..." looking over at Izuku, she saw him already beginning to excuse himself, "Come on, Izuku. Let's go shopping."

"W-What?!" her friends shouted aloud as they stared at her incredulously.

"It'll be fine! Plus, do you really want to leave him here? The All Might fanatic with all those expensive looking toys?"

Habuko looked to the boy and to the convention was starting to resume after the villain attack, and then sighed.

" ... Alright. Let's go, Midoriya."

"Wait! No! It's fine to leave me here! Really! I'll just go back home and ... !"

He continued to make excuses as they forcefully removed him from the area, heading to the mall.

* * *

"Your mother really worries about you, Izuku, and so do I. Especially when you're going to places like that."

"T-There's nothing wrong with it! I only want to support my hero-!"

"Midoriya, I doubt the most famous hero in Japan is going to care about some kid's measly purchase of a toy that he doesn't care too much for."

"They were selling a very limited edition platinum All Might figurine! There were only one hundred of them! Tsuyu! You can understand, right?!"

"That was when I was four, which was a very long time ago, Izuku." she gave him a small smile, "However, I might start collecting figures of you when you become a hero!"

He started to sputter in their grasp, and whatever resistance he had died down immediately.

"Okay! Now that the nonsense has been handled!" Izuku sort of looked a little peeved at Habuko's comment, "Shopping time! Let's go to that new Amazonian they opened up a while back!"

"Hm ... I actually wanted to go by Beu Bouti."

"W-What?! The u-underwear store?!" Habuko seemed a bit surprised.

"Yeah. It's getting a bit tighter around the chest, so I might need a new underwear."

"Tch ... seriously, how much are you going to grow there ... ! I'm so jealous, fatty!"

"You're a pretty good size too, Habuko. You're much taller than me, and you're so sleek-"

"Don't say that like a good thing! I'd rather be short and well-equipped like you!"

"Ah, Izuku, which store do you want to start at?"

When the two looked at their friend, they found him melting where he stood and utterly speechless.

* * *

They ended up going to Sizes, a somewhat family-friendly store where they could fit anybody, regardless of body size or shape.

"Gr ... none of these clothes are super cute or cool enough for me ... !" Habuko sulked as they wandered about the aisles.

"Izuku, would anything look good on me?"

"Ye-" he stopped himself, putting his hands around his mouth and turned his head.

"We're never going to get anywhere if you two keep messing around ... !" whining, the snake girl picked up a few shirts before setting them back down and walking away.

"I'll let you pick, Izuku ..." the frog girl clung to his shoulders, gently whispering into his ear, " ... So try to impress me, okay ... ?"

Habuko sighed in despair as she saw plenty of the other shoppers staring at the two teenagers.

"Whatever! Midoriya, if you make me look stupid, then you better treat us to something good!"

The flustered boy tried to come up with some sort of excuse, but when the two were staring at him with some expectation in their eyes, he gave up and started sorting through the clothes.

* * *

In the end, he had picked up a bunch of clothes, and after spending even more time staring at them, he gave them some. As they came out, he was already turned away, trying to avoid looking at them.

Habuko was wearing a plain t-shirt with jeans, a rather plain and standard combo, but that was to be expected from Sizes.

For Tsuyu, he had chosen a halter top and an A-line skirt that exposed her knees.

"Hey ... isn't Tsuyu's way more revealing than mine?!"

"I-It's because I know you're a bit sensitive about the part where your neck meets your torso, seeing as it's scales to skin, but at the same time, you've got a pretty impressive nape-"

"He's right. You've got an incredible nape, but you dislike anything below that."

"S-Stop talking about my n-nape! There's nothing good with my neck at all, you know ... "

"Don't talk that way, Habuko." Tsuyu traced a line down Habuko's nape, getting a short gasp from the girl.

"A-And what about you?! Seriously, it's like he wants to ogle you or something ... "

Tsuyu ignored Izuku's attempt at defending his choice and looked at herself. The top covered a little bit of her neck, but exposed her shoulders as well as her arms. Looking at her hands, she thought that his choice was a little bad. The skirt was okay, but she felt that it would have been better longer.

"I'd give you a five, Izuku."

The two seemed a bit surprised, but she didn't know why.

"Tsuyu ... your legs are to die for! Hell, if he had given you a mini-skirt that would have been fine!"

"I-I can't suggest something like that!" the boy picked up a few articles, a bandeau and a tulip style dress, "Look at this! How am I supposed to choose what you two should wear ... ?!"

* * *

The group left the store and the girls decided to get some drinks before leaving.

"Izuku, go get us something good." she handed the boy some money. Izuku was still looking away for some strange reason, but in the end, they had bought most of the stuff he had selected for them.

"Um-"

"Go on, Midoriya! Make it snappy, too!" he started running as the girl confronted him, "Man, he really is whipped, isn't he? Was it your doing or-?"

"He likes helping people. Plus, I want to see what he would get me."

"Of course, Ms. Ulterior Motives."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing ... but why did you give it a five? I totally thought it was at least an eight."

"This?" they had worn the clothes he had initially picked out for them, "It exposes too much of my arms. I don't feel confident about them."

"Why not? They're toned just enough and ... you enviable bust is a little exposed-"

"I said I wanted to go by Beu Bouti ... "

"And if it's about your hands, might I remind you of my neck?! Come on!"

Tsuyu contemplated a bit before smiling a little.

"Sorry. Thanks for the compliments! I really do think that the t-shirt and jeans fit you well, Habuko!"

"You're only saying that to make me feel better! Seriously, I could have chosen a bit better than this!"

"Wanna wear the tulip?"

"Hell no! Even I'm not daring enough to wear something like that!" Habuko paused, looking at the other girl's skirt, "That's a pretty good length. You think he stares a lot?"

"Even if he did, it doesn't matter much to me."

"No, I take that back, he probably knows a lot about them since you're always wrapping your legs around him."

" ... Only to pin him down."

They would have continued, but Izuku came running back with the drinks, panting loudly.

"About time!" Habuko quickly took the drink he gave her, "Getting thirsty, you know?!"

"Thanks, Izuku!" Tsuyu smiled at him, and took the drink.

As she took the first sip, a sweet nectar flowed into her mouth and slowly wrapped around her tongue.

"This ... this is ... !"

"Well ... you like jelly, so I got one that had little jellies in it ... "

Habuko slowly sipped her own drink, watching Tsuyu as she slowly fell into bliss.

* * *

"You get a ten, Izuku."

"T-Ten?!"

"I averaged it."

"I-Isn't this out of ten?!"

"Yep. The jellies get you an automatic ten."

"You're easy, Tsuyu. Bribed by simple jelly in your drink ... "

"What would you give him?"

"A big, fat, solid five."

"I see."

The group left the mall, and was slowly heading home.

" ... I'm having a party at my house in five days. If you want, you can both come over."

"Five days? I can make that." Habuko replied pretty easily, which was a relief to Tsuyu.

"Can my mom come too? I mean, she wanted to celebrate my passing as well ... "

"Yup! My parents would love to see Mrs. Midoriya again!"

"That's good ... I can't believe we're going to U.A so soon!"

"Yeah, I didn't believe you'd pass, but you managed to surpass my expectations! Maybe I should call you Izuku from now on?"

"I-I-It wouldn't be a p-problem, but I don't mind if you don't ... "

"Hm ... nah. You're still Midoriya cause you only got a five."

Habuko waved at them with the bags she held in her hands.

"See ya later, heroes!"

"Have a safe trip!" the two waved goodbye to the snake girl.

* * *

"Izuku?"

"Yes?"

" ... How do I look?"

"W-What?!" he turned to her, and stared into her eyes.

"Really, getting me these clothes, but refusing to look at them?"

"I-It's not that-"

"Izuku?" his eyes were bloodshot as she felt a little heat in her face, " ... Please, look at me ... !"

Letting out a nervous sigh, his eyes slowly took in her form and he turned away.

" ... I-It's hard to look ..."

She felt a pang of disappointment and shame, hoping that wearing the clothes he had chosen for her would be a bit pleasing to him.

"I see ... I'm so-"

"You're just too pretty."

"E-Eh-?"

"I-I'll see you later, T-Tsuyu!" the boy ran, surprising the frog girl and quickly disappeared from sight.

It took her some time, but she finally started making her way home, her head and chest feeling a bit weird as his words repeated themselves in her ears.

* * *

It was a little confusing, but Tsuyu discovered that she had somehow boarded the train home. She was in a bit of a daze, but she didn't think it would be this disorienting.

"Excuse me, miss!" a loud voice surprised her, "You seem to be having some trouble! Is there anything I can do to assist you?"

"Ah, you're the straight-lace!" it was the boy from the exam, the one that had confronted Izuku before it had begun.

"Excuse me?! I'll have you know that I don't have shoelaces, but that is not the proper way to address someone! Except ... you're from the exam, aren't you?!"

"Yes, I am. My name is Asui Tsuyu." putting a finger to her lips, she thought carefully, "You can call me Tsuyu, if you wish."

"Apologies, I should have introduced myself first!" although he was a bit uptight, she didn't think he was a bad person, "I am called Iida Tenya! It is nice to meet your acquaintance, Asui!"

"Call me Tsuyu."

"S-Sorry, but might I ask why?"

"My friends call me Tsuyu."

It seemed that he was a rather robotic person. He looked as though he couldn't comprehend what she was saying.

"I would like us to be friends. Call me Tsuyu."

"Ah! I see! It is nice meeting you, Tsuyu!" he bowed a little, "Might I ask why a lady such as yourself is around at this time of day by yourself?"

"Heading home, Tenya. Why are you on the train? Do you live nearby?"

"No, I do not live nearby! I'm checking the train and its stops on the way to Yuuei Academy! So far, it's not too bad, but it's currently 6:30 PM, so I should leave about three hours ahead of time if I wish to arrive at school at an appropriate time!"

"I see. You're very serious about things, aren't you?"

"That is who I am! I won't tolerate foolishness from myself!"

"I suppose it's not a bad trait, but you were overly harsh to my friend before the exam."

"The plain looking kid, from what I remember?"

"Midoriya Izuku. He passed, by the way."

"Yes, I acknowledge his prowess!" it felt weird to have someone who had rebuked her friend suddenly change their mind, "The way he had discovered the test within the test was admirable! A test to see whether we could put the sake of others before our own safety ... ! I admit, that he has bested me ... !"

"Don't beat yourself up about that. He didn't do it because he knew the true purpose of the test."

"He ... didn't?"

"No. He simply followed his heart and did what he thought was right. Izuku ... is very kind."

" ... Now that I think about it, you did the same, did you not? For the sake of the other girl?"

"Yes, Uraraka Ochako. We became friends before the exam."

"I see ... I hope that when the next opportunity arrives, I will conduct myself in a similar manner!"

" ... I thought that you were really stuck up."

"E-Excuse me?"

"But you're actually quite nice, aren't you?"

"I ... that's not something that I can confirm, Tsuyu."

The train stopped, and Tsuyu moved to disembark.

"I'm throwing a party in five days. Do you want to come?"

"I'm afraid that I am rather tied up at the moment, but I thank you for the offer." he seemed a bit more subdued than he had been. Tsuyu thought that he must have been a little nervous.

"That's alright! It was nice meeting you, Tenya."

"The pleasure was mine, Tsuyu." he timed it well. The doors closed as he finished speaking and the train quickly made its way to the next destination.

* * *

It was harder to find Katsuki. The boy had never exchanged contact information, and Tsuyu assumed that he didn't want it to begin with.

Instead of trying to ambush him, she thought it would be a better idea to go to his house with a gift, in case she needed to placate the volatile boy.

"Ah ... Tsuyu, wasn't it?!" his mother had greeted her when she knocked, "It's been ... how long? I haven't seen you since you were tiny!"

"Hello, Mrs. Bakugou. I'm here to invite Katsuki to a party in two days."

"Two days?! Aw ... shit! I'm so sorry, Tsuyu." the mother looked a bit guilty, "My boy's going hiking that day. Something crazy thing about trying to come up with impressive moves or whatever that boy's got going in his head!"

"That's alright ... is he in?"

"Yes, he is!" she slowly closed the door.

"Hey, brat! A girl's come to see you!"

"Tell them to fuck off! I'm busy!"

"You little shit! A cute girl is at the door for you ... ! You know how goddamn rare that is, nowadays?! You get your ass out here right now!"

"God damn it!"

The door reopened and his mother peeked out.

"He'll be right out!" smiling she left the door open and walked further into the house.

Tsuyu didn't really know what to think of the exchange, but it seems that his mother had not changed a bit since she had last seen her.

"What kind of shitbitch are ... Asui? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hello, Katsuki!" it took a lot out of her to ignore the "shitbitch", "I was going to invite you to a party in two days, but I heard that you're too busy?"

"I wouldn't go even if I was free! What the hell goes on in your head sometimes?!"

"I ... well, I kinda expected you to not make it, so I got you a present instead." she handed him the parcel, hoping he would like it.

Ripping it open like a brute, he pulled it off the wrapping and looked at it blankly.

"The hell? A sleeping bag?"

"It's got a tent, a tiny burner, and some other knickknacks I thought you would enjoy."

"Ah ... " he seemed to regard the gift without contempt, which was already some sort of victory for the frog girl.

"It really is a bit of a shame. I wanted to introduce some more friends, but I guess it'll have to wait till later."

"Tch ... doing something useless like that!" he set the gift inside his house and glared back at her, "Doesn't matter who your friends are, Asui! I don't wanna meet them! You better get your ass in gear, or U.A will eat you alive! If it doesn't, I sure as hell will leave you in the dust!"

"You think I passed?"

"You wouldn't be throwing a party if you didn't! What kind of loser throws a party for failing?!" he sighed a little, "Sides, I knew you would make it anyway. Who would fail something that easy?!"

"Izuku had a tough time. It was kind of scary."

Katsuki's brow furrowed in rage, and Tsuyu could see the scorn in his eyes.

"That damn Deku ... ! How in the hell did he pass?! You! You helped him, didn't you?!"

" ... I did help him a little, but like I said, he was trying his best, Katsuki."

"Why can't you fuckers see anything?! Hello, there's a reason why I call him Deku! Tch, I thought you were smarter than this, Asui!"

"Don't insult him like that! It's true, I helped him, but he passed on his own! He earned it, Katsuki!"

"Yeah, right! How many points did he get, Asui?!"

His glare only grew in intensity as she winced.

" ... Zero-"

"Fuckin Zero?!" a small explosion erupted from his hand, "Are you fucking kidding me?! What the hell ... ?! You think that shitlord can be a hero?! The only thing he's going to do, is get some-"

"I thought I told you no explosions!" the boy was hit by what appeared to be a rather strong blow, and he was dragged inside.

His mother's head peaked out from the nearly closed door and she wore a terrifying smile.

"I'm so sorry over this guy's behavior ... ! Little brat can't control himself sometimes!"

"It's alright. I'm used to it."

"Oh ... my! Someone who isn't terrified of my little boy?! Hey, girl! You can come over anytime, alright?"

"What the hell are you saying, you old bag?!" Katsuki's voice came from within, "I don't want that bi-!"

Mrs. Bakugou's head went back inside, and a loud smack was heard before she popped back out.

"Alright, Tsuyu? Anytime is fine!"

" ... Yeah. I might visit sometime in the future. It was nice seeing you again, Mrs. Bakugou."

* * *

The day of the party had come quicker than she thought it would, but she was sure she got as many as she could. Actually, thinking about it, she was able to invite all of her friends, so she did the best she could.

Satsuki and Samidare were excited as well. Izuku and Habuko were regular faces, but they had never seen Ochako. Her parents had even taken the day off to spend it with their little girl, and they were excited as well.

"The boy passed?! Gotta give him some shit then ... !"

"Father!"

Or, rather, her father simply wanted to tease Izuku.

* * *

The first to arrive was Izuku and his mother. They lived closer to her than the others, and they had arrived a little earlier than they were supposed to.

"Izuku! Play with us!" Satsuki latched onto his back as soon as she was able.

"Inko! It's been a while ~!" Beru wrapped her arms around the other woman.

"Beru! It's so good to see you! Is Ganma still trying to tease my son?" the two broke apart, smiling.

"All the time! He always expects a lot from the boy, it's silly!"

They went inside, the children flailing about as they played "Deku Hunting".

"Inko! Don't listen to Beru! If Izuku wants to hang around my daughter, he better work extremely hard!"

"He was all worried and panicked when the test started, going "That boy ...! He better pass, no matter what!" pacing about and around ... !" Beru tried to do her best Ganma impression, which was actually a bit impressive.

The patriarch refused to let Beru bait him, and chose to remain silent as the two discussed a lot about their children.

They watched as the two Asui children messed with Izuku.

"W-Where's Tsuyu? I haven't seen her yet."

"Hm ... she was around here. She must be in her room. Izuku! Go get Tsuyu! You know where her room is!"

"Okay, Satsuki! You heard your mom, so let go already!"

The girl croaked as she got off.

"It's so fun teasing you! You're like ... a squirmy worm!"

"Nah, he's more like a, um, lizard!"

"No! Worm!"

"Lizard!"

"C-Could you choose a better animal? Please?" he muttered as he left to go get Tsuyu, but wasn't even able to get to the hallway.

"T-Tsuyu? What are you doing?"

The girl had been waiting around the corner, peeking as her friend had arrived.

" ... Hey, Izuku." she was trying her best to keep her composure, "It's nothing. I was ... thinking about the other day, and-"

"I-I-I found her!" Izuku fled, going back to where everyone else was.

"Tsuyu! Come on over, we've still got to prepare for the other guests!"

* * *

"H-Hey! I've arrived!"

"Habuko! Thanks for showing up!"

"I-It's nothing! We won't be able to see each other for a while, so I thought that maybe, yeah, it'd be fun to meet up with everyone!"

She was wearing another outfit that Izuku had picked out, another simple combination of a long skirt, a top without sleeves and a small collar.

" ... You don't look bad, Habuko."

"R-Really? I mean, that guy has absolutely zero fashion sense, b-but I thought it'd be a waste if I didn't wear the clothes ..."

"Come on in, you can meet Izuku's mother." she quickly dragged the snake girl in, and the events that happened next were close to embarrassing as the boy's mother couldn't believe her son had more than Tsuyu as a female friend.

* * *

"Tsuyu!" as the frog girl answered the door, she was firmly hugged by something very cheery.

"Ochako! Was it difficult getting here?"

"Nah, it was fine! I'm excited to meet your family!" they went inside, and Izuku's mother gasped again as another girl showed up.

"I-I-Izuku ... ! When did you make so many friends?!"

"I-I can make friends, Mom!"

"Hello! I'm Uraraka Ochako! I met Tsuyu and Midoriya at the exam!" she bowed to everyone in the room, "I'm so excited to meet you all! Please, take care of me!"

"Guh ... who's this unnaturally ... bright girl?" Tsuyu's father was already squinting, having some difficulty looking at the new arrival.

"Oh, you're so cute!" his wife didn't mind too much, "I'm Beru, Tsuyu's mother! What's this, on your hands?"

She was suddenly floating in the air.

"Oh my! I'm flying~!" she twisted and turned a little in the air as Habuko, the Asui family, and Midoriya family stared in shock.

"Please ... take care of me ... !" Ochako was hunched over a little, holding her stomach from the unexpected activation as Tsuyu grabbed her mother with her tongue, briefly touching Ochako to signal the release of her power.

* * *

"Izuku ... when did you meet so many people?"

"Mom ... ! I already told you, that Tsuyu was around when I met them. Do you think I'm able to approach anyone, let alone a g-girl on my own?"

"It's so surprising, that my little boy can speak to others so normally!" tears were already falling to the ground.

"Inko, don't start crying again! I'm not sure the floor can take much more!" Ganma berated the woman as he started to see her in the corner of his eye.

"I'm flying! I'm really flying!"

"The world's first, flying frog!"

"Uuu ... that's ... great ... !" her siblings were already abusing her new friend, and so Tsuyu thought to remove them from her, but Ochako had told her that she could take this much.

"Don't worry! I'm sure to make a great impression!" is what she had said, but from the looks of things, that impression was going to be "a bit of a spewer" if something wasn't done.

"Samidare! Satsuki! Go mess with Izuku for a bit!" she grabbed the two, and as she directed their feet to the ground, Ochako released them and they touched down safely.

"Deku Hunting!" they tackled to boy, almost knocking his mother over as well.

"Come on, let's go meet Habuko." she saw her father get extremely upset, so it would be wise to escape the eventual "Scolding Ganma".

The snake girl was quiet in the corner, unsure how to speak to any of the new arrivals, but Tsuyu wouldn't allow her to pass the time by.

"Ochako, this is Mongoose Habuko. Habuko, this is Uraraka Ochako."

"Yeah, I heard earlier." Habuko looked over the other girl, "You're ... kinda bright."

"So I hear!" the girl cheerfully exclaimed as she smiled at Habuko, "You've got a really impressive neck! And your hair's all "Boomf!"! Blue really goes well with it!"

"Y-You think?" the color of her clothes were blue, and so was her eye color, "T-Thanks ... "

"Yeah, and your scales! They're super cool and scary!"

"Ah, I forgot. Thoughtless."

"Eh?" the bright girl was confused by the statement the snake girl had made to Tsuyu.

"It's nothing. You're going to U.A too?"

"Yep! I can't wait to make more friends! Can ... we be friends, Habuko?"

" ... Yeah, that would be ... nice, Ochako." Tsuyu could tell they would get along, Habuko's nervousness disappearing.

* * *

The doorbell rang, and Tsuyu answered it.

" ... Asui."

"Katsuki? I thought you weren't coming?" it was unexpected, but not in a bad way.

" ... Just came to ... shit! Here!" he handed her something covered in wrapping paper with little frogs on it, "I don't like owing people anything!"

"Katsuki, you don't owe me anything! Thanks! I really like the paper you put it in!"

"Tch ... whatever. Who's here?"

"Ah, there's a new friend over that's going to U.A as well! Her name's-"

"Tsuyu! There's another guest? Invite them in, invite them in!" her mother called out to her, getting everyone to try and look at the door.

"K-Kacchan?!" the sight of Izuku must have infuriated Katsuki, his eyes narrowing and a sneer already forming on his face. Her siblings were by Izuku, and seeing Katsuki's face, they cowered behind Izuku.

"Deku ... !"

"Is that Kacchan over there?" his mother also spoke up, "It is! How have you been, Kacchan? Are your parents well?"

" ... Yeah, they're fine ... " his hateful expression disappeared immediately, replaced by a stern look, "They're thinking about inviting you out sometime, but they're cowards."

"Now, now, Kacchan ... it's just been a while since we've seen each other!"

"Well, whatever. I did what I came to do, so I'm leaving." with that, the boy left and there was some confusion that Tsuyu could see.

"Tsuyu, who was that boy?" her father didn't seem pleased at the boy's temperment.

"That was Bakugou Katsuki. He's ... a friend. Isn't he, Izuku?"

"Um ... yeah, we've known him since we were kids."

"Hmph! You're still kids! Didn't he just say Deku? Isn't that what Samidare and Satsuki call Izuku sometimes?"

"That's ... well, we told them that Izuku was called that a few times ... "

"That boy was rather strange, wasn't he? A little cute too ~"

"What?! How is that behavior cute?!" Tsuyu's parents were too busy back then to have met Katsuki or his family, so that was a bit expected.

"That bastard ... how can you call him a friend when he acts that way?" Habuko seemed a little tired from seeing Katsuki again.

"He's going to U.A too? Wow, what a character!"

"He's an ass, Ochako. He kinda picks on Midoriya."

"Really? So, he's bullying you?"

"N-No! Kacchan ... he's only a little ... um ..." Izuku was unable to accurately say how the boy treated him.

"He's a little Kacchan, is all." Tsuyu diverted their attention away from Izuku, "Not the friendliest, but he really is devoted to being a hero."

"He called you Deku, didn't he? Can I call you that too?"

"Ochako, that's an insult."

"Still, it has a weird vibe to it, doesn't it? I feel like it makes you think, "I'm not gonna give in!", that and I think ... it would be nicer to call you by a nickname, Midoriya ... "

"S-Sure, you can call me Deku!"

"Grow a damn spine already!" Habuko raged at Izuku, who tried hiding behind the kids, but he was too big.

Taking off the paper, Tsuyu smiled a little as she saw that Katsuki had gotten her a familiar drink that had jellies in it.

* * *

The party proceeded very well from there. The parents were talking among themselves while Izuku distracted the kids for a bit, before switching out with one of the girls. The food was good, but of course, Tsuyu did most of the cooking herself. Her mother had offered, but knowing how good she was at cooking, Tsuyu declined.

It was getting later in the day, and the guests were about to go home, so Tsuyu chose this moment to drag Izuku away. It wasn't completely unnoticed, their parents seeing them a bit before returning to their talks, but they seemingly had no intention on stopping her.

Izuku stuttered a bit, but she couldn't understand anything he was saying as she brought him into her room.

"Hey, Izuku?" she closed the door and pushed him against it.

"T-Tsuyu ... ! W-Wh-What's up ... ?!"

"I ... I was a bit worried, after you left so suddenly after we went shopping."

"I-Is that so ... ? Sorry about that-"

"It was kind of sudden, saying that sort of thing. You can forget it, if you want."

"Huh?" he seemed confused at what she was getting at.

"I don't want to strain our relationship. You ... haven't been avoiding me, have you?"

The entire party, he had tried to hide away from her, using her siblings or the other girls to occupy her time.

" ... No, I didn't realize that it looked that way."

"It's alright. I ... don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me, so I'll forget it too, okay?"

He looked a little worried, which was strange. She thought that this was something that needed to be said, for them to both move on without this awkwardness, but she didn't think he wouldn't like it.

"Are we ... talking about the same thing?"

"About when I asked you how I looked?"

"I thought it was about my answer ... "

She didn't think it would get more awkward, but once again, he pulled it off.

"I ... hm ... "

"I-I mean, I was t-trying to answer you, b-b-but I'm not really good at that kind of thing, you know ... ?"

The conversation wasn't going the way she had hoped it would go. It didn't seem like either of them could forget it. Trying was probably pointless, seeing as the moment wouldn't leave her.

"Stop mumbling." she hugged him, making his mumble mode turn off and he changed to useless tomato.

" ... I guess there's only one way we can get past this sort of thing."

"W-What would that b-be?"

She looked up, frowning a little as he froze in her arms.

" ... It's not the time for that though. You still need to become a hero, Izuku, so I'm not sure I can do such a thing ... hm ... maybe ... "

Tsuyu buried her head in his chest, trying to think of some alternative, but nothing came to mind.

"Tsuyu ... it's okay. You don't have to cry."

"I'm not crying though?"

He pat her head, and she felt under her eyes. It was wet.

"You hide your feelings, Tsuyu. I've known you long enough to tell when you're struggling. I-I'm a bit ... embarrassed from what I said, but I don't really regret it. I ... meant what I said, Tsuyu! I think that you're ... pretty ... !"

Izuku was very steady, and she didn't feel him shake. His eyes were capable of staring into hers, and after a few seconds, she strangely felt the room start to heat up.

" ... You're really awkward." he jumped a little, turning back into a tomato.

"Yeah ... I guess I am-"

She licked him, from his chin to his cheek.

"It's alright, you don't have to talk ..." she felt him trembling, invoking some dangerous feelings.

"Thanks for coming to the party."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, everyone! Here's another chapter!**

 **New OC in this chap, and I hope it's not too unbearable.  
**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

It was time, and Tsuyu made some last second checks to make sure she had everything she needed for the day.

First day of school, of attending U.A with Izuku and her friends. It was already making her a little excited as she exited the house.

Samidare and Satsuki had already left. Her parents had taken the liberty of transporting them as they went to work, which helped her out quite a bit.

Locking the house up, she made her way to the train. It was a rather uneventful journey up until she reached the station.

Tsuyu didn't notice anyone walking around, which was odd because not long ago there had been a ton of people trying to get to work, and the air felt colder than usual.

A chill ran up her spine as something approached her from the shadows.

A gaudy clown dressed in purple and yellow was holding a bunch of balloons, something she had never seen before in the area.

Holding a balloon out to her, the mask they wore smiled back as swirling yellow eyes slowly stared into her own.

She had things to do, and she hurried away. As the frog girl entered the station, she turned to see if the clown was still there, but it had disappeared, as if it was never there to begin with. People were walking through the streets into the station, passing her by as she stood still before she moved on.

* * *

The academy was huge, but it wasn't hard to find her classroom. The letter she had received in the mail along with the holo-device had informed her of her class and what time it began. Luckily, when she had rushed to Izuku when he got his acceptance letter, she was able to learn that he was in the same class as her, so she planned to have him sit by her.

Opening the door, she was greeted with an argument.

"As I said ...! It's a disgrace to the school for its students to so blatantly disregard their appearance, and not only that, it's incredibly insulting to the craftsmen that made your desk ... !"

"Oh, shut the hell up, peon ... ! As if I care about the feelings of a stupid desk ... !"

It was fortunate that her two friends were also in the same class, but Katsuki and Tenya didn't seem to get along very well. Looking about the room, she saw a few more people in the classroom doing their best to ignore the argument.

Then, looking at the clock, she saw that it was still about thirty minutes until class began.

At the sound of the door opening, they had both looked to see her standing there, and with a huff, Katsuki took his feet off the desk and turned away from her.

"Ah, Tsuyu!" looking over to Tenya, she saw Katsuki flinch, "I hope the trip wasn't hard on you! You don't feel dizzy or anything?"

"Nah, I'm okay, Tenya. Thanks for the concern."

" ... The hell? When did you get all buddy buddy with this class act, Asui?" although it was low, the classroom was silent and the frog girl could hear him.

"I met Tenya on the train about ... six days ago? I was shopping that day with friends and ... I had tired myself out."

He looked as though he wished to say more, but Katsuki ignored her after that, which hurt a little.

"Thanks for your gift, Katsuki. The drink was delicious!" giving him a smile, she approached his desk.

" ... Whatever ... !" he scowled, and refused to look at her, "Get the hell away from me!"

"How rude ...!" Tenya didn't seem to appreciate Katsuki's way of saying "You're welcome.", and he glared at the boy.

"It's alright, Tenya." she moved away from Katsuki, according to his wishes, and sat near the door.

Her eyes might have gotten something in them because her volatile friend looked a little lonelier by himself.

"Are you prepared for the lesson today?" Tenya sat behind her, "I doubt we'll be doing much other than attending an orientation, but it's good to be prepared!"

"I brought my gym uniform and other school supplies, just in case."

* * *

Tsuyu chatted with Tenya a little about what to expect from the orientation, but a steady stream of students started to arrive about five minutes before class began. Tsuyu's attention was a bit divided, and she was sure that Tenya had noticed as he also observed the new arrivals, probably looking for anyone that was prepared to disobey the rules.

"Heya! The name's Kirishima Eijirou!" a red haired boy sat by her, holding a hand out.

" ... Asui Tsuyu." she replied back in a dispirited way, weakly shaking his hand.

"Eh? What's wrong?! Aren't you excited?!" the boy grinned widely at her with some rather sharp teeth.

He had taken the last seat by her. The one in front of her had been taken by a blonde boy that had greeted her once and observed the rest of the class. Tenya was behind her, and there wasn't another seat to her side, since she sat near the wall.

" ... Yeah ... " it was hard to be motivated now. She wasn't sure how seating order was decided, but if it was going by name, she wouldn't be able to sit near Izuku.

At least Katsuki might be forced next to her, despite his wishes.

"Ah ... I see ... " he introduced himself to his other neighbors, and actually struck up a rather interesting conversation with a blonde boy with a lightning bolt in his hair.

"Tsuyu? Were you sure to eat breakfast? You seem rather weak!"

"It's ... nothing ... " she sighed a little, knowing that Izuku wouldn't do well without her by his side. He'd flounder or something, and it was distressing.

The door opened, and in walked the person she was worrying about.

"Ah, Midoriya! If I might have a word with you!" Tenya stood up, racing, no, walking rapidly toward the now stuttering Izuku.

"My name is Iida Tenya, we met during the exam!"

"Y-Yeah ... " she knew that he didn't want to talk to Tenya, as he tried to back up and run away, "M-Midoriya Izuku ... "

"It is nice to formally meet you!" Tenya bowed a little, "I was informed by Tsuyu that you had passed, and I wished to congratulate you!"

"E-Eh?" he was a bit surprised, not expecting to actually be congratulated by someone who had criticized him.

"I ... was a bit nervous during the exam, and I had been a little rude!" he bowed even further, making the other boy even more bewildered, "But I believe you earned your place here, at Yuuei Academy!"

"U-Um ... thanks?"

"Ah, Deku!"

Ochako rushed in and greeted Izuku, "Nice to see you! And who are you?"

"I'm Iida Tenya, may I ask who you are?"

"Uraraka Ochako!" the bright girl's smile shined like the sun, "I think I saw you running around the exam!"

"Yes, I recall someone resembling you as well! I believed that Midoriya here was about to-"

"Ah, Tsuyu!" she ran over to the frog girl, "We're in the same class! I knew it ... !"

"Yes, yes ... it's really great!" she was hugged cheerily and endured the brightness, "I'm glad that my friends are here too!"

"Hey ... if you're here to make friends, go away." a voice came from the door that had been left open by Ochako, except there was nobody that Tsuyu could see.

Somebody had managed to crawl into the room in a sleeping bag without anyone noticing, and she couldn't imagine how hard it was to stand up in a sleeping bag.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Everyone change into your gym clothes and meet out on the field." he told them plainly before getting out his sleeping bag and leaving.

* * *

It was shortly after she had changed that Tsuyu was approached by a girl with long, thin ear lobes.

"Hey, name's Jirou Kyouka."

"I'm Asui Tsuyu, but you can call me Tsuyu. What can I help you with?"

"Wanted to thank you for shutting those dweebs up. They were going at it for fifteen minutes before you got there."

"You didn't ask them?"

"Course I did! Those bastards just ignored me and it was pissing me off! I woulda blasted their asses, but I took the exam with the spikey dude, and he's a little ..."

"Yeah, he's a bit extreme. I'm sorry I didn't arrive sooner."

"Don't beat yourself up about it now. You just remember that so I don't have to sit through their rabble again."

"I didn't think it was too loud though?"

"My quirk." she pointed at her longer earlobes, "These ears can pick up sound better than yours. It's a pain in the ass sometimes."

"Ah, mine's called Frog-Form. I'm like a frog girl."

"You don't get all slimey and stuff, do you?"

"No, I'm still just a girl that can do things a frog can do."

"Hm ... " and with that, Jirou had left. Tsuyu thought she was a little cold, but she knew that appearances could be deceiving.

* * *

The field was quite large, and they all stood behind the discus throwing area.

Their teacher had a long, thin, white scarf and wore mostly black. He didn't look lazy, but he didn't seem motivated either as he held some sort of device, looking at them.

"Alright, listen up! We're going to hold a little test-"

"Excuse me, teacher!" Tenya rose his hand in the air, "Aren't we supposed to be attending the orientation speech?!"

"Nah, that's pointless if you all want to be heroes!"

"A-Ah?" Tenya seemed confused, as the plan had been altered suddenly.

"Here at U.A, they allow the teachers to do what they want. In other words, I have the freedom to teach you guys important lessons, and right now, we'll be learning something important! Your limits!"

Confused, the students watched as the teacher took out a ball.

"Hey, Bakugou, come here and stand in the circle."

The boy scowled at the teacher, but didn't do much else aside from taking the ball and following instructions.

"How far could you throw a softball?"

"Tch ... about 60 meters."

"Throw the ball as hard as you can. You're allowed to use your quirk."

Grinning, the boy reeled his arm back.

"Die ... !" and threw the ball, shouting loudly as an explosion propelled the ball further.

Many of the students were taken aback by the boy's words, but they were impressed as the ball flew out of sight.

Aizawa looked down at the device before showing it to his students, revealing that Katsuki had sent the ball a massive 705.2 meters. Many of the students were impressed, and Katsuki seemed delighted as he walked back to the line. He lightly brushed against Tsuyu, giving her a predatory grin. Izuku, who was standing next to her, wasn't so lucky and was almost knocked over by the volatile teen.

"In your old schools, you've been forbidden from using your quirks, but now you're becoming heroes! Before we begin hero instruction, we have to discover your limits!"

He was a lot louder than he was earlier, and a stern gaze watched them all.

The students started to exclaim in surprise, and some were even happy that they would be able use their quirks so freely.

" ... What?" they all quieted down as they heard their teacher murmur, "You're ... excited? Didn't you know this was a test?! Do you think being a hero is fun and games ... ?!"

Tsuyu looked to Izuku, and saw that he was panicking. She knew that his body would break if he dared to use that insane quirk of his.

"Right, okay then. The one in last place, I deem hopeless and they'll be expelled ... !," Izuku shook in fear, "Welcome to the Hero Course here at U.A!"

* * *

It was rough, to say the least. The pressure to not fail, and the worry that ran through her for Izuku were overwhelming. She was never a competitive person, but she wouldn't shy away from it if she needed to face a challenge.

However, at this rate, she knew her friend was going to fail. Everyone else was so extraordinary, and he was still performing at a normal human's capacity.

Tsuyu was up against Tenya during the 50-meter dash, and needless to say, she was surprised by his speed. She did pretty well too, considering that her gait was a little different from most, and she was allowed to hop to the finish line within four seconds.

Izuku's time was over seven seconds. Either by chance or Izuku's luck, Katsuki was always aiming to compete against the poor boy, trying to prove some sort of ridiculous point while making Izuku's score worse.

For the grip strength test, she wrapped her tongue around the digital hand scale, and tightened it, allowing her to achieve a grip strength over 200 kg, which was a bit higher than most.

Izuku's was only 65 kg.

Her standing long jump was ridiculous, and much farther than anyone else.

Izuku's was second to last.

The side step was a bit harder, but she performed admirably, to her disgust.

Izuku stumbled a bit and fell behind. He was not last, but it wasn't a good score.

And then came the throwing event. Tsuyu threw it, achieving at least 120 m.

Izuku slowly walked up, the last thrower, and nervously looked at his hand holding the ball.

"Ha ... ! This is ridiculous!" Katsuki was rude as he stood next to her while she was trying to watch her friend, "I told you he shouldn't be here! Your "help" is wasted on Deku ... !"

"Please ... be quiet." she gave him a hard stare, which he returned with that prideful smirk of his.

This was one of the last tests, and he must have seen that everyone had at least one good record, at least, above his own. If he didn't do anything now, there would be no chances left.

"You really think he's going to pass this?!" he pointed over to the boy, who was still standing still, "Shit head can't even skip stones, so what makes you think he's going to do any good?!"

"I do. He's tried so hard to be here-"

"Stupid ... !" It was becoming unbearable talking to the boy as he continued watching Izuku under pressure, "You know it as well as I do! He's nothing more ... "

Taking a deep breath, Izuku threw the ball.

The distance he threw was 56 m. Not even close to saving him.

" ... than a useless, Deku!" she wanted to hit him, but she was too stunned to reply.

"But ... I tried using it ... " Izuku seemed confused, staring at his shaking hand.

"That kind of power is irrational, so I erased it!" Aizawa said aloud, his scarf had unraveled itself and she could see the goggles beneath them.

"Those goggles ... you're the underground hero, Eraserhead! You can erase quirks simply by looking at people!" Izuku helpfully explained everything about a hero she had never heard of.

Some of the students also didn't know who he was and questioned about him among themselves.

"I saw that strength during the entrance exam, and how it crippled you! Did you think that you would have someone save you after incapacitating yourself?!" he looked her way very briefly, "That kind of power reminds me of a certain blockhead who saved more than a thousand people, making himself into a legend. You've certainly got guts, but you're too reckless! You're only being a burden to those around you!"

"With this kind of attitude, you'll never become a hero!"

He didn't know anything. To make such an assumption without having all the facts in order was absurd. Tsuyu stared at her teacher before he sighed, walking next to her and closing his eyes.

"Alright, I gave you your quirk back. Let's get this over with."

Yet, at the same time, Tsuyu couldn't refute her teacher's logic. It was true, that he didn't know what Izuku was capable of, but it was also true that Izuku's power wrecked his body, and rendered him useless afterwards.

His broken body after he had destroyed the robot, was more than enough evidence to convince Tsuyu that Izuku should quit being a hero.

The boy stood in the center of the circle for a while, thinking.

"This is for the best." Aizawa muttered to her, "I bet that you would agree that he should quit here."

She didn't say anything, watching her friend wrack his brain silently for some sort of answer.

He then took a step, his arm reeled back like Katsuki's.

"He's got no chance."

" ... I ... " she wouldn't turn away, and she certainly would never give up on him, no matter what, " ... believe in him."

She hadn't heard it before, but she could tell when he was using his power. The air shook and a loud noise, like roaring wind, filled the area.

His arm swung forward, a look of deep concentration was etched onto his face and she could tell he was muttering.

Izuku was putting everything he had into this one action. He dedicated every ounce of strength he had towards this one goal.

"SMASH!"

In an instant, Izuku smashed the ball with everything he had and it flew, creating a shockwave that blasted back at the students, and some of them almost fell over from how strong the blow back was.

In shock, Aizawa stared at the boy he had claimed would incapacitate himself.

"Teacher! I ... !" Izuku stood in the circle, slowly forming a fist with the hand that only had one broken finger, " ... can still move ... !"

And that boy was grinning like an fool, as though he wasn't going to fail a minute ago.

"This kid ... ! How ... unexpected!" Aizawa smiled a little, his eyes gleaming when before he had been looking on with disinterest.

Even she felt elated after seeing everyone's surprised reactions to Izuku's performance. He had at least managed to get recognized by some of his peers.

"What ... the fuck?! Deku!" Katsuki rushed towards Izuku, ready to explode. Tsuyu tried to restrain him, but he was using his quirk to fly towards the other boy, blasting her and Aizawa back a little, "What the hell was that?! Tell me, you-!"

White cloth slipped around his head over his arms, restraining him.

"Hey, quiet the hell down!" Aizawa spoke up, being the one to use his scarf to incapacitate Katsuki, "Stop using your quirk right now and get back in line! I've got dry eye, and that dust isn't doing you any favors!"

Katsuki grit his teeth, and after one final attempt to resist, turned away from Izuku. After Aizawa allowed him to walk back, he told the group to prepare for the next event.

Tsuyu stayed behind, Katsuki glaring at her for a second before scowling hatefully at Izuku as they moved to their next event, the endurance run.

"Mr. Aizawa," she told him as he put eye drops into his eyes, " ... I ... think you would agree with me when I say that without knowing everything, that to call someone a "burden" or "hopeless" ... is irrational."

" ... Maybe I would, but all I will say, is that he's not someone that has no chance at being a hero."

He left for the next area as she continued to stare at him.

"And stop glaring at me like that, it's useless to try and threaten me."

* * *

The next events passed by without much to show. The next one was the endurance run and after that the stretching event. Izuku had run with pain evident on his face, but she couldn't help him. A few times, she had even passed him and a horribly painful feeling would shoot into her heart. The stretching event was even more unfair, as she stretched her tongue 20 m away.

And finally, Aizawa stood before his students, his device in his hands. The device let out a little glow and all the results were posted.

Tsuyu's eyes were glued to the last place holder, hoping that it wasn't him.

Midoriya Izuku.

He was last place.

"Oh yeah, I lied. I won't expel anyone."

They all stared at their instructor.

"It was a rational," he looked over at her, "deception! Meant to bring out the best in you!"

She didn't believe one word he said, and as he grinned at her, she knew that he knew. Everyone else was happy that nobody was being expelled, but they were even happier they weren't last, like Izuku.

"We're done here! Papers regarding your curriculum and the like are in the classroom. Be prepared for tomorrow! And Midoriya," the boy jumped as Aizawa held something out to him, "Go to Recovery Girl to get patched up. Tomorrow's going to be hell for you."

* * *

"Careful there, sonny. Even if I keep healing you, you're eventually going to run out of stamina and die anyway."

Tsuyu jumped as she waited outside, waiting for Izuku to be healed by Recovery Girl.

"R-Really?! That sounds terrible!"

"Just don't get hurt out there! You've got to be more careful, boy!"

"I-I'll keep that in mind! Thank you, Recovery Girl!" he exited the Nurse's Room and walked with Tsuyu back to the entrance.

"You ... must have heard that, Tsuyu ..."

"Don't, Izuku. Let's not think about it now, and be glad that the first day ended well." she pat his back a few times, for comfort, and they exited the main building.

"Deku! Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine!" Ochako was getting a little too close to Izuku, but he was doing well at covering his face and maintaining some form of conversation.

"Deku? What does that mean, Midoriya?"

"Katsuki calls him that all the time. It's an insult." Tsuyu told him, somewhat glancing over at Izuku with a disappointed look.

"Eh?! Why would you insult Midoriya like that, Uraraka?!"

"He said it's fine! It means, "Never give up!"!"

"It actually means "useless"."

"Tsu~yu! It's fine! Isn't that right, Deku?" Ochako tried to persuade Izuku by hugging one of his arms.

"Izuku ... !" Tsuyu retaliated, holding his other one tightly.

Tsuyu could tell that the boy couldn't stand the girls as they got closer to him, eventually reaching his melting point and he started to faint.

"Midoriya! What are you two doing?!"

"Ehehe ... ! It's fun, isn't it, Tsuyu?"

The frog girl stared at Ochako for a few more seconds, still holding onto the boy.

"T-Tsuyu ...?"

" ... Yeah."

* * *

"T-Tsuyu ... why are you following me home?"

"I'm making sure you get home safely. I don't want your stamina to run out."

"I'm n-not going to fall over like that ... "

"You almost did when we hugged you." she replied, watching as his temperature peaked from remembering it.

They were almost at Izuku's apartment, and as they walked by the river, Tsuyu felt a chill envelop her body.

"I-Izuku ... ?" it was cold, but rather than affecting her body, it pierced her soul.

Earlier, she remembered this feeling.

"What is -?" he turned, and his eyes widened as he looked behind her.

"Well, well, well ... !" hands that felt hollow grabbed onto her shoulders, "Isn't this exciting?! A young girl ... accompanying a young boy back to his place? How ... scandalous ... !"

The voice that hissed next to her ear was bitter and mocking, neither female nor male, and worst of all, it held such hatred in it that she felt death was but a step away.

"Izuku ... run ... " she could barely manage that as the boy grit his teeth and glared at whatever was holding her.

"If you go, your friend becomes froggy paste."

"L-Let her go ... !" he seemed to have more of a grip than she did, but she hoped that he would listen and get away from this ... evil.

"I only wish to have some fun as well, young boy. Isn't it fine ... to share?!" their fingers were digging into her shoulder, and she was sure that they would tear through her skin, "Or do you want her all to yourself?"

It was a sudden thought, but Tsuyu wondered why there was nobody around. It was evening time, and yet, there were no cars, no buses, and nobody to help them.

" ... What do you want?" he was starting to plead, she could tell. His eyes and fists were shaking.

"As I said ... " the voice creeped close to her ear, and she could feel its wet breath on her neck, "I want some fun, and I'm going to have it!"

She was pushed forward, falling onto the boy. He caught her, but whatever it wanted to do, it was too late to stop it.

* * *

It felt like being put through a spin cycle as the street that she had known long ago was gone, and they were somewhere else.

"W-Was that a warp?!" they took in the surroundings, and Tsuyu couldn't think of anything to say.

They weren't even in the city anymore. A barren landscape with nothing but darkness, and the earth was a dull red. A loud, drumming noise could be heard, but it sounded as though it came from the ground.

"Izuku ... " it was hard to breathe, but she didn't know why.

"It's ... It's okay, Tsuyu!" he sounded desperate as he looked around for anything familiar, "I-I'm going to try to- my phone's gone?!"

"Calm down." she grabbed onto his hand, "Whatever we do, we make sure it involves staying together."

He stared at her, a little confused, before he took a few deep breathes, slowly letting each one out.

"Okay ... um ... " he looked around once again, trying to get his bearings, "This place ... doesn't look normal."

Taking a closer look at their new environment, they saw that they weren't alone.

Large, monstrous figures slowly moved within the darkness, sometimes moving close enough to be seen, but the two wished that they had never done so.

"This ... isn't real, is it? It's possibly an illusion, and we're sleeping ... "

"Let's not test that out, Izuku. We don't have enough information, so for now, we should try to find a way out."

They decided on a direction and walked, doing their best to move unnoticed. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could hide behind, so they moved slowly.

* * *

Out in the distance, they could see that there was another patch of light piercing through the darkness. It was some sort of staircase that extended out into the sky.

"That's strange ... I mean, I wondered why there's light, but is there a sun?" now that Izuku brought it up, Tsuyu looked up.

A giant, golden eye stared down at her, the pupil focusing on her as she looked up.

It startled her, and Izuku did the same. It only stared at them, but it was extremely unsettling.

"W-W-Well ... now we know why there's little light." Izuku couldn't hide his fear, "I assume that there's ... another eye ... down there."

"It doesn't look possible to get over there."

"H-Huh? Why not?"

Pointing, Tsuyu revealed that between them and the light, there were countless, slithering things that moved across the surface, hiding from the light.

"The way's blocked, and I'm not willing to risk our safety against something that large."

" ... You're right. We don't know how this place works, so it'd be best to figure out another way to get over there."

* * *

It took them a while to move around the slithering thing, but even after accomplishing that, they were attacked by little green bats that flew out from the darkness.

"Don't use your power!" Izuku was readying himself up until she stopped him, "There's too many, so we can only run!"

Wrapping her tongue around him, and receiving a few bites from the weird little monsters, she jumped across the landscape. It was dangerous, but there wasn't a choice when hundreds of the little things were trying to eat them.

She had passed by one of the large creatures. It was a dull grey, and moved thoughtlessly as it had no direction. As she went by it, one of its limbs had almost hit her, surprising the frog girl and taking down some of the bats.

With a groan, the giant started to shove the bats against itself, absorbing the creatures through its skin, and she didn't want to experience that if it was possible.

It was then that she had made a mistake. They had assumed that the landscape was flat, and there was nothing to worry about other than the weird creatures.

* * *

Tsuyu regretted her carelessness when she tried landing, and instead, fell down into a cavern.

Landing on her feet, Tsuyu almost dropped Izuku. They were in a cave, and at the bottom was a dark, reddish liquid that came up to their ankles. The eye continued to stare at them through the small entrance.

"Don't drink it, Izuku." warning the boy of the water, she let go of him and he frowned a little.

"Of course I'm not going to drink it! But, I've been thinking that ... doesn't it seem like a body?"

"What seems like a body?"

"I mean, the red ground, the red water, the eyes staring down at us from the sky, the pulsating ... it feels a bit like ... we're inside a giant body ... "

"That would make this the head, wouldn't it? Unless, they had eyes somewhere else." it was creepy. A thought that they were inside that clown thing was unnerving.

"I don't know ... is this an intentional theme, or is it ... "

He didn't have time to hypothesize, as something started to rise from the water.

It was humanoid, as much as any of these creatures could be. It's bright red coloring had hidden it until the movement attracted their attention.

"Oh no ... Tsuyu, can we escape?" he quietly asked the girl, not knowing if the thing would attack.

" ... We can try. That thing gives me the creeps."

It looked terrifying as it walked out of the darkness. It had a large body, like a gorilla, but its limbs were long and skinny and it had no head. Like everything else, it looked too surreal to exist.

Tsuyu wrapped one of her arms around Izuku, and jumped, but the thing's hand was somehow grasping her leg.

Needless to say, it hurt when it threw her against the water, and despite her warning to her friend, the water had entered her mouth, but luckily it was only red colored water.

If it had been blood, it would have freaked her out a little more.

She tried again, even as the boy protested in her arms. Instead of jumping directly at the exit above them, she tried to use the walls to jump off.

It didn't move, and at first she thought they had escaped, but she had been too naive.

The thing smacked her down to the ground, but she didn't let go of Izuku. Hoping her body would cushion him, she took most of the rocks to her back and lay still.

"Tsuyu ...!" after the landing, he lifted her head out of the water and tried to assess her injuries.

" ... Listen ... you're going to have to get away, Izuku ... " her body wouldn't listen to her. She wanted to get up, but it wouldn't move.

"You can't ... ! I think you might have a concussion, and few more injuries ... I'm going to fight it!"

"No ... " she grabbed onto his shoulder, using most of her strength to do so, "Don't do that ... we can still run ..."

"I'm not going to leave you here, Tsuyu ... " he took her over to one of the cave walls. The creature seemed to have no intention on letting them them escape, but didn't care about anything else they did.

"Alright ... stay here! I'll be right back, okay?"

"I ... won't forgive you, " he frowned heavily as she slowly felt her strength leave her, "if you ... leave me ... " it was getting harder for her to stay awake.

" ... Tsuyu ... I'm sorry." he grinned back at her sheepishly as her eyes closed, "Try ... get ... here ... "

Struggling was fruitless as her eyes closed against her will, only some of his words reaching her ears.

* * *

It was a dream, she had hoped. There were sometimes flashes of red, and a lot of screaming, but she had tried to wake up, to escape this nightmare and go back to reality.

She didn't know what had happened. One second, everything was fine, but the next, everything had been flipped upside down. Tsuyu wanted to return to that peaceful life, where none of this insanity could reach her.

Not knowing how much time had passed, she was able to open her eyes, and with a start, she did her best to lift her body up.

Only half of her body responded, and she saw that she was alive, even though she was still in this nightmare, her body at least looked alright.

Relief had entered her heart. She was no longer inside the cave, but back at the top. Izuku had done it, and saved them both.

At the thought of Izuku, she wondered where he was. He must have figured out a way to get them both out of there safely, but she didn't see him anywhere.

"Izuku ... ? Izuku! Where are you? Are you okay?" she called out, hoping for a friendly response.

Nothing moved to her words. The large creatures continued their flailing, but they ignored her.

A thought entered her head, but she didn't want to believe it. He must have been out, searching for the exit.

At that, she noticed she was near the staircase. It must have been on the other side of the hole, but it was unexpected to have reached it so soon.

Tsuyu wondered if he had left, but quickly smothered the thought. He wouldn't leave her here without a good reason. It was possible he had left to get help, but he would have realized that there might not be a way to get back. Knowing him, he would have thought that far ahead.

The thought came back, but she tried her best to suppress it. There was no way it could be real, but she was unable to refuse the possibility.

He couldn't still be in the hole. That's silly. She was sure she told him that he wouldn't be forgiven if he did such a thing. There's no way he would do that to her.

Crawling, she made her way to the hole's edge.

The creature had moved to the side, but remained immobile. It had no interest in her as she wasn't in the hole.

In the center, covered in the red water, was Izuku.

* * *

The giant that meandered meaninglessly didn't care about her at first, but that changed as she took a sharp rock and stabbed it a few times.

They react well to pain.

Being absorbed was painful, her arm now had a large hole in it when she had ripped it free. It followed after her, bellowing in a strange and pointless way as it followed her to the hole.

The landing had been better this time, and she had picked up Izuku as quickly as she could.

The red thing was already trying to hit her, but she slid by it and tripped it using her tongue.

The giant was falling into the hole. Even if it had blocked it up, that wouldn't have mattered to the girl.

Jumping against the wall, she saw it trying to absorb the red thing, but it flailed wildly, raging as she tried escaping.

Her shoe's sole had become nothing after she jumped against the monstrous creature, but they were out now. They had both escaped the cavern.

Izuku wouldn't wake up, no matter how much she had prodded him, no matter how much she had yelled or shouted, not matter how much she cried, he wouldn't wake up.

If they got out of here, she would give him a stern talking to, but for now, he would have to endure the ride on her back.

* * *

The staircase was a lie. After climbing it for hours, there was nothing. It just ended.

Time flew by as she traveled the wasteland. At some point, she had lost count after two days, but the flat wasteland had become long, rolling hills that didn't end. Her foot must have been ruined at this point by all the walking she did, but she only felt numb.

The eye in the sky was disgusting as it stared down at her from up in the sky. Never had it closed or disappeared, and she feared it would follow her for the rest of her life, however short that may be.

In the corner of her eye, she had spied a big, blue creature. It shuffled behind her, keeping to the darkness, but it was definitely following her. It didn't matter, as long as Izuku could be freed.

But there was no more strength in her. Collapsing, she despaired when Izuku had landed hard as her face hit the rocky ground.

"I'm sorry ... I should have put you down first ... " her throat was too dry, and her voice cracked. He must have found it repulsing because he wouldn't talk to her.

"Hey ... how long do you think we've been here? Your mother must be worried sick ... " blood seeped from her mouth. Her body was more susceptible to dryness, being a frog.

"Samidare ... Satsuki ... mother ... father ... I wonder what they're all doing right now? They must be so worried ... " tears had stopped a long time ago, possibly after the first day.

"The others ... they'll form a search party, and they'll find us, Izuku ... we just need to hold on, for a little while longer ... "

He wouldn't talk to her, it must have been because she had fallen asleep at the worst moment. Izuku didn't hold grudges, but even she would be peeved by her behavior.

"Izuku ... !" she knew he wouldn't wake up. It had been a long time since he had bled out.

Tsuyu struggled to pick herself, but was only able to get on her knees. She looked over to her friend.

The large blue thing was staring back at her. It's face was small, but human shaped as it stared at her with tiny, black eyes.

There was no strength left to fight it. If it would end her quickly, she would be grateful.

It lifted something to its mouth, and with its tiny sharp teeth, it took a bite.

It was a piece of Izuku's broken body.

Her tongue shot out, but it rolled out of the way and sliced her tongue with one of its claws.

Searching for Izuku, she saw that he was still lying by her side, but the large creature had gotten behind her.

Turning, she struggled as something wrapped its hands around her neck.

It was Izuku, but she knew it wasn't. He was lying next to her, and he wouldn't be able to choke her. He didn't have any hands.

The fake's black eyes stared back at her as it rammed a claw into her chest.

She felt weak, and the thing was starting to stab her a few more times. It wouldn't be so bad, dying to his hands.

But she reminded herself that it wasn't Izuku, so she kicked him away with her remaining strength. It rolled along the hills before disappearing.

Raising a hand to her chest, she knew it was too late. That thing had finished her off, and this was it.

Tsuyu fell down to Izuku, hugging him weakly as her eyes were consumed by darkness.

* * *

"And ... scene!"

It was bright, and she was back in the city. She was on a bench. At her side, Izuku sat staring forward.

The one who had done this to them bowed low, but it wasn't wearing a clown outfit, but a purple and yellow suit.

"Ah ... that was great! You two put on a great performance!" it's laughing mask mocked them as it looked back up at them with its horrible, yellow eyes.

Tsuyu tried to speak, but she didn't know what to say. Fear had consumed her.

"It's a real shame, but you did pretty well against Violence, but in the end, Grief ended you! Thanks to you two, my boredom has somewhat been sated!" it clapped at them a little, "Now then, this manipulating and malevolent, Manipulent, will take their leave, but worry not ... !"

She had never known more terror in her life as it stared back at the two, insanity in its eyes.

"I'll be back ... ! Farewell!"

It was gone, as though it was never there like it had done so at the start of the day.

" ... It's only been a minute ... "

Tsuyu turned to her friend, who was staring at his phone.

"All of that ... was only a minute ... ?"

"Izuku ... " she touched his shoulder, a jolt going though her body as she made contact.

"That's ... unbelievable ... what kind of quirk was that?"

"Izu ... !" she couldn't finish, burying her head in his chest.

"I'll text ... a friend. He might know more about this ... Manipulent." he typed on his phone as she cried.

"Didn't I say not to leave me ... ?!" he put his phone down, and hugged her head.

" I'm sorry, Tsuyu, but... it was for nothing ... there was never an escape."

" ... You knew?"

"After I got mauled by that thing, I was still aware. Even ... after I di-"

"Forget it! It never happened!" she yelled at him, desperate to forget the entire experience. She stared at him, tears streaming from her eyes.

He was about to say something, but he closed his mouth, frowned sadly, and rose a hand to her face.

Tsuyu grabbed it and pressed it to her cheek, closing her eyes and held onto it with both hands for comfort.

"Whatever that was, Tsuyu ... it happened. It was real ... "

"What makes you think that was real ... ?"

"Our clothes."

She looked down at their clothes, which were ruined and torn to shreds.

"We need to tell the teachers, Tsuyu. That ... Manipulent is dangerous."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think, good or bad!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **It's a bit shorter, and maybe a bit too "try-hard", so let me know and I might go over it again to change a few things!**

 **Now, Tsuyu might seem OOC, and people might be upset, but hey! She's 15, under a lot of stress, and even for a frog girl, getting sent to nightmare land messes with some people! I'd also say I'm totally not defending why I did what I did, but I guess I totally am trying to defend myself! Oh well! Maybe it's more enjoyable this way?**

 **I apologize, but I don't know much about ... what happens when people are super aroused. J-Just sayin ...**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

It had taken a while, but Tsuyu was able to collect herself to some degree. She sat with Izuku while they awaited the help he had called.

Their clothes were in tatters, not that it matter much to Tsuyu who had witnessed a version of Hell not too long ago, and there was no one walking around this area. Holding onto his hand, Tsuyu was very glad to be alive.

"Midoriya, my boy! You called ... ?!"

Landing in front of them, without even cracking the concrete, was All Might. Needless to say, it was very surprising, but knowing the boy, his secrets, and the few contacts that he had, it was predictable he would call Toshinori.

"Wow, you know All Might's number, Izuku?"

"U-Uh, n-no! That isn't the case!" he flailed his arms, letting go of her hand and denying the accusation, "I-I called Mr. Toshinori! H-He's a friend of All Might!"

"T-That's right!" even All Might was doing a similar action as her friend, "Toshinori and I go way back! We used to work together, but not directly! He's a good friend!"

The great hero paused, before moving his hand to his ear.

"It's alright. You can disperse now. Manipulent has fled."

"What's the matter?" she had an idea why no one was walking around.

"The police have cordoned this area off, for the safety of civilians, as well as providing a little ... privacy for you two!" he pointed at them with a hand.

"S-See, this is from that villain! I mean, our clothes took some damage, but in that world, we were really getting hurt, this appearance is completely innocent, and there's no way we would tear up our clothes ourselves-"

"Stop that." with a whack of the tongue, the boy stopped his incessant mumbling.

"I-I'm just trying to explain why we look like this-"

"Pointless!" she stared at him as he fumbled.

He didn't seem to understand why she had stopped him, but with a polite cough from All Might, she ignored the issue.

"It's very fortunate for you two to be in such spirits after dealing with Manipulent! I completely understand if you need to take some time off, and don't worry about your uniforms! Replacements are being prepared as we speak!"

"T-Time off?! No way would I miss tomorrow's class with you, All Might!"

"I-Is that so?!" the hero rubbed his head, giving off an embarrassed impression while retaining his trademark smile, "But, what about you, Asui?! It must have been an arduous affair, from what young Midoriya has told me!"

"You mean, from what he told Mr. Toshinori?"

"Y-Yes! That is correct! From what Mr. Toshinori has told me!"

"I'm a fan too, All Might. I want to go to school tomorrow."

"Aw, shucks, you two! You're making this old man feel rather loved!" she liked seeing his ridiculous reactions as he comically twisted about, "But your safety is more important than a class! Are you sure you're up to it?!"

"Yes!"

"Alright then! I'll consider this matter over, for now ...!"

"W-Wait!" he was about to leave, but Izuku had stopped him, "Do we have to worry about Manip-"

"That matter is being handled, my boy!" Tsuyu saw a frightening glint in his eye, which was uncharacteristic of the hero, "They don't go after the same target again for some time ... but you better dial me right away if you see them!, " he gave them both a slip of paper, which Izuku held onto religiously and she looked at it in admiration, "I'll be by your side to save you!"

After that, he was gone in a flash, leaving behind a burst of air.

"Whoa ... All Might's personal number!" she suppressed the urge to tell him she knew he had the number already, but he was doing this for the sake of All Might.

"Izuku ... mind if I come over today?"

"W-What?! I mean, I don't mind, never, but don't you want to go see your family, after what happened?"

"You want me to go home like this?" she directed his gaze to her ruined clothes, gleefully causing him some discomfort as he became a stuttering mess.

* * *

"I-Izuku?! T-Tsuyu?! Where are your clothes ... ?!"

Izuku's mother was very surprised to see them come through the door. Thankfully, they had gotten home unnoticed, being close enough to make it back before the pedestrians arrived.

"S-Something happened ..."

"Hiya, Mrs. Midoriya." the older lady was starting to twitch as her face turned red as she kept looking at the two, "Do you have any clothes that would fit me? We got caught up in something."

"Y-Yes, actually, I have something already prepared!" she took the frog girl's arm and they moved to her room.

Reaching inside her closet, the matriarch brought out a few clothes that were still packaged up.

"Here, I got your measurements from your mother, so try them out."

"Why do you have clothes for me?"

"B-Because you've been rather bold, haven't you, Tsuyu? Coming in all the time, drenched to the bone ... this is i-insurance." Izuku's mother held her reddening cheeks and fidgeted in place, "I-I was getting worried that something like this would h-happen!"

" ... I see." Tsuyu took the clothes and headed to the bathroom to change.

* * *

"Izuku! What did you do?!" she could hear his mother asking him through the bathroom door.

"M-Mom ... ! I'm changing!"

"Tell me! What happened ... ?!" there seemed to be some great struggle happening within the Midoriya household as she heard the two fighting over the boy's bedroom door as she removed the shredded clothes and put on the new ones.

"M-Mom ... !" it seemed he lost as he pitifully cried out, "N-Nothing happened, alright?!"

"Really?! You better be telling me the truth! Coming in with both of your clothes in that state!"

"I-It's-!"

"We were attacked by a villain, Mrs. Midoriya."

The two stopped fighting, Tsuyu's intervention had to be quick or else her friend might say something he shouldn't.

"A-A v-villain?!"

"Yeah, but we're alright. We're not hurt. All Might came to save us."

"I-I see. Thanks, Tsuyu! I knew I could rely on you!" the mother left her son's room, relieved that she had gotten an answer.

Taking a quick glance, Tsuyu saw a flustered Izuku with his pants around his ankles reaching for the handle. His eyes met hers and his face reached a new level of red.

He was wearing All Might boxers, and after letting out a sigh, Tsuyu saw the boy's face pale as he quickly shut the door.

"That boy ... really! Trying to lie ... ! Why wouldn't he tell me!"

"He didn't want you to worry. It was ... scary."

"B-But you were there, weren't you, Tsuyu?" the woman truly looked grateful to her, "My son's always getting into some sort of trouble, but you were there to help him!"

He was laying down there, broken, in the bottom of the hole filled with blood.

"Thank you, Tsuyu!"

" ... Yeah."

* * *

"I-I'm off to the store now! D-Don't do anything ... too adult ... " his mother left too fast for Tsuyu to argue against that statement. She was only left with a question of what Izuku's mother meant and her thoughts.

"H-Hey ... "

The frog girl had been too lost in her thoughts, not noticing Izuku sit next to her on the couch.

" ... You're still wearing All Might bo-"

"Y-Y-You weren't supposed to see that ... !" his covered his arms with his head and turned away, but she could still see how red he became.

"That's pretty disappointing, Izuku."

"W-What about you ... ?!"

"What about me?"

"Y-You used to wear All Might p-p-panties!"

He was shivering, probably thinking she was going to thrash him for saying it. The boy was right, she did want to hit him, but she had been a little distracted.

" ... You were looking back then?" he was shaking violently, imagining what she was going to do to him.

Izuku didn't turn towards her, so he didn't see how amused she was.

"That means ... ?" putting a finger to her lips, she smiled, "You've looked recently ... ?"

Caught in a trap, Izuku sweat and shook in fear.

" ... That means punishment, Izuku."

"I-I-It was an accident!"

"Then why didn't you apologize?"

It was a bit unreasonable, but she didn't stop. Of course the boy wouldn't have said anything, it would have made her aware, and this situation would have happened no matter what he chose to do.

Unresponsive, he tried to hide his head in the corner of the couch, but he wasn't going to be able to escape if he did that.

Tsuyu grabbed one of his arms, prying it away from his head. He resisted a bit, but without that insane strength of his, he was weaker than she was.

At least, she thought he was. The boy was putting up a valiant fight, but she was able to wrest his arm away.

The boy was trying with all of his might, and so she sat on him, giving her the leverage to pull his other arm away as well.

"I-I-I'm sorry ... !"

"It's a little too late for that."

He was trying to turn his head away from her, closing his eyes tightly, but in this position, there wasn't much he could do than squirm from beneath her.

Sitting atop him, she stared down at his comically terrified face, sweating from being put in this situation.

" ... Am I ... dreaming ... ?"

He stopped moving and looked up at her. She didn't know, but right now, there was a flurry of emotions welling up from within.

"T-Tsuyu?"

"I don't know ... what's going on anymore, Izuku ..." she lay her head down on his chest, releasing his arms, "All of that stuff ... that nightmare ... ! I don't even know if I'm alive right now ... !"

Assailed by those memories, she realized that this could all be a lie. She had felt pain in the other world, so it wasn't impossible that the villain had trapped them again, waiting to take them back.

" ... You're alive, Tsuyu. All Might said that Manipulent could only take people into that weird place." he hugged her, warming her up.

" ... What if that's a lie as well?"

"Well ... I can't really say for sure, but ..." looking up, she saw his awkward face attempting to find an answer, " ... I mean, you feel real to me, and you're ... a-assaulting me like you usually do ... "

"You're being a bit weirder, Izuku." a small, hiccuping croak escaped her throat, "You're actually putting up some resistance."

"That's only because you do this so much, I've gotten a little ... y-you know, used to it ... "

"Liar."

"I'm telling the truth! You're safe now, Tsuyu!"

"No, not about that." he looked confused, "Nobody can be as awkward or embarrassed as you, so I know you're alright."

"T-Then why am I-?"

"You're not used to it," she smiled at him, "You enjoy it!"

"W-What?!" he was turning red and heating her up even more, "T-T-T-That's-!"

He made a funny expression when she moved her tongue across his cheek. It was so funny, she wanted to see it some more.

"S-Stop ... " his resistance was weak, intensifying her excitement.

"You wanted to help me, didn't you?" she crawled up to his face, staring into his submissive eyes, "Then show me more ... Izuku!"

It was dangerous, but she couldn't help it. Her brain was screaming at her that this wasn't the time, but her instincts were dictating her moves at this point, so her reason was being suppressed.

The sound of something hitting the floor had been unexpected, causing Tsuyu to look for what had made the racket.

Izuku's mother had entered the apartment, and was staring down at the two, her hands hiding her mouth as her face turned a deep shade of red.

"S-S-Sorry!" and like her son would do, she ran out of the apartment.

"M-Mom?!" he had gained a bit more strength, but she still held him down.

Sighing, she hugged him and lay her head down on his chest, listening to his heart.

" ... Don't leave me again, Izuku."

He fidgeted, before he returned the embrace.

" ... That was metaphorical. Go get your mother."

" ... I can't."

"Why-?" she felt something pushing against her legs, and she stared hard at his reddening face.

" ... I suppose you couldn't help it. It's my fault, after all."

* * *

"T-That kind of thing ... y-you two aren't r-ready for it yet!" catching up with the older woman, Tsuyu was being scolded by her friend's mother.

"Sorry, Mrs. Midoriya, but it wasn't what you-"

"I-I was there l-long enough to see! Don't try and trick me!"

"He was comforting me from the villain attack. I ... was confused."

" ... About what?"

"The villain's quirk made us see things that weren't real, and experience ... bad things. I was confused because I thought we might have been under the villain's influence, but I ... Izuku convinced me otherwise."

" ... I-I see." sighing, the mother had nothing left to say about that matter, "Well, I think you should stay for dinner."

"No, I should be-"

"Tsuyu, honey," the mother grabbed her shoulder and smiled comfortingly, "look at your pants."

Looking down, she started to agree with the mother that she should go back home and have dinner at the Midoriya's. At least, until her pants dried off.

* * *

Calling her parents had made her feel really happy. She missed their voices, although to them, she had spoken to them yesterday.

After everyone had calmed down, had dinner, and a few conversations, Tsuyu decided to go home and Izuku wanted to at least walk her to the station. Before they had left, a representative from U.A had delivered Izuku's new uniform, so she assumed that her parents would soon receive hers.

"About earlier ... " she had tried to speak to him several times during the trip, but he would clam up and try to change the conversation, not giving her the chance to apologize for her behavior.

"Ah, yeah ... ! I'm going to go buy some new underwear, cause i-it's a bit childish to be wearing-!"

"Take me with you then. Mine got ruined, and I had to throw them away."

"I-I-I'll think about it ... "

"Don't go rooting through the trash for them either."

"W-Why do you think I would do that?!"

"Better safe, than finding it later in your room."

" ... Why did you even bring it up then ... " she smiled, seeing him relax slightly.

"I wanted to te~ase you ... " she glanced around, seeing that they were in front of the station. At this time of day, there was nobody around, but she could still see people here and there.

" ... before talking more about what happened."

" ... It stresses you out, thinking about that place."

"It's less about the place, and more about what happened." she furrowed her brows, or as much as she could, "Izuku ... I thought you had died."

He scratched his head, giving her a reserved, but sorrowful look.

"At the very least, I didn't want you to go down with me. I thought that I did what was best-"

"Even if the best thing was leaving me, your mother, and all of your friends behind?"

" ... Yes. If I could save one more life at the expense of my own ... "

She didn't like it. That resigned look, that satisfied look, that stupid, irresponsible look as though he said something cool.

He cried out as her fist met his head.

"T-?!"

She hit him again, interrupting the boy and sending him to his knees.

" ... Did that hurt?" she asked him softly as he held his face in his hands.

He nodded, fear coursing through his shaking body.

"Did dying ... hurt ... ? she crouched down so her head would be by his.

"Y-Yeah ... "

"Then why?!" she grabbed him, forcing his eyes to meet hers, "Did you not know?! This pain you feel, that pain you felt ... was nothing! It's ... nothing ... !"

Her cheeks felt wet, and she tried to control herself, but the fear and the pain were too much for her to bear all alone.

"It's ... nothing ... compared to what I felt! Compared to what we all would have felt! W-What would I tell your mother ... ?! I'm sorry ... ?! Sorry I couldn't protect your son ... ?! Sorry that he was killed right in front of my eyes?! Sorry that ... he was right ... there ... ?! If only ... ! If only I had been a little stronger ... ?!"

Hiccups started to interrupt her, causing her to stop her admonishment and start trying to catch her breath.

"I ... I'm sorr-" he tried placating her, but she knew better. She could see what he couldn't, so she shook off his attempt.

"I want you to promise me, and if you're unable to do that ... you're really ... really "Deku", Izuku!"

He looked hurt, as he should, but it didn't make her feel better at all. Her pain only got worse.

"Before ... before thinking about saving others ... you better think up a way to save yourself! How can you save people if you're the one that needs saving!"

Izuku, with his split lip and slowly forming bruise, didn't respond right away, which was more than enough reason for her to feel scared.

"Izuku ... !"

" ... Tsuyu, I ... don't know if I can ... " he slowly removed her hands from himself and stood up, staring down at her in sadness.

"W-What are you ... ?"

It looked as though he was going to leave. Leave her here without an answer, and go back home.

This wasn't what she wanted. This isn't what she thought he would do, and she criticized herself, for thinking that he would listen to her unconditionally.

"H-Hold on ... ! I ... I spoke too soon-!"

"We don't know what will happen in the future, Tsuyu. If ... there's a time where I have to sacrifice myself ... "

"No ... " he was going to leave her again. Like he had done so in that terrible place.

She stared back into his eyes, this abyssal feeling that was welling up inside, consuming her heart was from the nightmare.

When he looked at her, his expression changed to that of horror. It must have been hard, looking at this pathetic sight. It was rude, to demand something like that from him.

"I'm sorry, just forget it, o-okay? Let's go back to normal. B-Back ... to being friends?"

"What are you talking about?! You're thinking too much ... !" he hugged her, "Stop it! What do you mean by "going back"? Aren't we still friends?"

" ... Don't leave me, please? Not again, please ... ?"

"Tsuyu ... ! I thought you didn't lie, so why the hell did you say you were alright earlier?!"

"I-I didn't want you to leave me ... "

" ... I won't leave you alone, Tsuyu. Never ... !"

It didn't matter if the few people walking around were looking at them, Tsuyu continued to cry as she held onto her friend, the one who told her he would never again leave her alone.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you find any errors, and what you thought about it! Too much, too little?!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Now I'm just getting ridiculous. Maybe I need to do a few more serious chapters or something.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

The next day, classes had continued as usual, until All Might's turn to teach came about.

"I am … !" the hero burst into the room as the class started, "Coming through the door, like a NORMAL person … !"

It wasn't something Tsuyu would call normal as the man danced a bit as he walked to the front of the classroom, wearing what she recognized as one of his older, silver age costumes. The rest of the class was eager to be taught by the top hero.

"Hello, class! Since you all probably know who I am, we won't waste any time!" he pulled out a tiny remote, and the side wall to their classroom started to open up. The frog girl could see some numbers on what appeared to be compartments inside the wall.

"We'll be holding combat training today! It's fun, exciting, and more importantly, educational!"

He added that it also had a ton of credits attached to it, which is probably the main reason why he wanted to do it, but he had lost most of the students' attention. They were too interested in the compartments.

"Wondering what's behind those little doors?! Why, it's your costumes!"

The class started to cheer, including Tsuyu herself. Hopefully, they had made her suit how she wanted it. Although it didn't have many unneeded designs, she was a practical person, and only made a few questionable decisions.

It was all for the sake of being a hero. A cool, collected head and suitable attire were necessary, for both her image, and her ability to serve the innocent.

* * *

"Izuku? Are you still changing? Everyone's already left."

Tsuyu waited outside the boy's changing area. Many of them had impressive costumes, but too many of them had stared at her as they left.

It felt a little uncomfortable, especially when the purple headed weirdo stared at her for a long time. Whoever had a hand in designing her costume had been too foolish and messed with the design too much. It was practical, maybe even more so now, but she was wishing it was a few millimeters thicker.

"Yeah!" he came out shortly after she called for him.

Her initial impression of his costume was very unfavorable. She sighed as the boy dressed in a light green jumpsuit came out, but at least his suit looked a little like hers. Atop his head was the worse part.

"Tell me those are rabbit ears."

"N-No! See, it's supposed to be All Might's ha-"

"You're a rabbit, and that's that."

He frowned at her, before he tried to criticize her new look. It didn't take long for steam to come out of his ears.

"W-What's wrong with your costume?!"

" … This wasn't intentional."

He wanted to say more, but his processing power seemed to have dropped quite a bit as he continued to stare.

"We don't have time for this, Izuku!"

" …W-Wow ... you've really worked on your figure-!"

She carried the boy out, holding his head in her tongue as they hurried to make it to the class.

* * *

They made it as All Might showed up.

"Everyone's here, I see! Alright, let me explain the situation!"

The scenario they were to play out was a hero team was to infiltrate and secure an objective while the villain team did their best to prevent the capture. They would draw lots to see who would be on what team, and then All Might would choose who would be heroes and who would be villains.

Some of the students had a problem with the randomness, but others knew that there was some degree of random in a real world situation.

Her heart was pounding as she reached inside the box, the order of the students was determined by seat, so she still had a chance to team up with Izuku.

Pulling it out, she saw that it was a H.

Tsuyu waited as patiently as she could. Staring at Izuku, he must have felt rather pressured as well.

His was an A.

"Ah, glad to be working with you, Deku!" Ochako's team was A.

The boy didn't respond, and Tsuyu resigned herself to be in a different group.

"Hey, what's your team?" the purple haired weirdo from earlier approached her, and she saw the little slip in his hand.

Before she could answer, the last person had pulled the last slip out.

"Excuse me, everyone!" she called out, "Who else is on team C?"

"Holy shit … ! I'm super lucky!" the little purple goblin ran off towards the speaker, looking much happier than he was when he was talking to her, which gave her the impression that he was rude.

In her heart, she already decided that he was going to be a bit troublesome as the girl was assaulted by the little purple freak.

"I think we're on the same team." another person approached her, someone that had the head of a dark, feathered bird and was about her height.

"Team H?" he didn't say anything else, instead, he showed her the slip with a H on it.

"I see. Nice to meet you! My name's Asui Tsuyu, but you can call me Tsuyu."

" … Tokoyami Fumikage." he bowed slightly. It didn't feel like he was a huge conversationalist, but at the same time, he wasn't unfriendly.

"Alright!" the hero gathered their attention once more, "These two boxes I have here will determine what role you shall be playing!"

Labeled "Hero" and "Villain", the boxes that All Might spoke of were objects of interest as he plunged is hands into them, pulling out two balls.

"Team A will be heroes! And against them … !"

It was Ochako's and Izuku's team. She was happy he would get to be a hero because a villainous role didn't suit him too well.

"Team D!"

Tsuyu didn't know who team D was, but looking around, she was shocked to see who it was.

Tenya was a good guy, but serious. He could probably be villainous for some time.

" … Deku … !" the other team D member growled as he stared at Izuku hatefully.

Worried racked her heart as she saw that it was Katsuki.

* * *

The rest of the class moved off of the trial site into a command room. There were many monitors that showed various angles of the site.

The place where they would hold this mock battle was a building. All Might had explained that the smarter, and more cunning villains would not conduct their activities out in the open, which Tsuyu understood. It was going to be a bit difficult, but she felt that given the group they had, an enclosed area might be better for her.

The building itself had five floors, and the floor plan of each one was identical. There were plenty of windows to crawl into, but they were big enough to not be able to hide from the inside.

Actually, this setting was very ideal for her, as long as she remained hidden. There might even be a chance where she could take the objective herself, but that was as long as she wasn't up against somebody that was a powerhouse or a disadvantageous quirk, like the ice boy.

There was a prep stage where the heroes could prepare before commencing their attack on the villain's headquarters.

The students watched as Izuku and Ochako observed the outside of the building as the villains were given this time to prepare. Katsuki and Tenya positioned the objective, shaped like a comical missile, on the fifth floor.

Both teams had some discussion, but it appeared that the villain side had trouble cooperating, and knowing the volatile boy, Katsuki would try to refuse his teammate's help.

Izuku and Ochako got along pretty well, so their teamwork would be excellent. On the first day of school, Katsuki and Tenya had some friction between them due to simple behavioral differences.

Their teamwork should be the worst among the class. The only group that would do worse would be Izuku and Katsuki.

That was what she had known about the boy, but something seemed different about Katsuki. Instead of blowing off Tenya, like she thought he would do, he was yelling at him. It was very aggravating, that there was no sound in the video screens they watched, but they seemed to be working together.

* * *

There was a bang, signaling the start of the trial, and the class watched as the two groups would collide.

Izuku and Ochako entered the building around the third floor using her anti-gravity power. Afterwards, they had to rest.

The other team was much more active. Katsuki would peer around the corners before moving towards the stairs. Tenya was following him.

"Isn't that weird?! Aren't they completely missing the whole "if this thing is taken, we lose" bit?!" one of the students, a pink skinned girl with a very odd, but nice looking leotard asked All Might.

"No, they've got a solid plan! If this is how they're going to do things, the hero team will be hard- pressed for victory!" the hero was writing down everything of interest. He had explained that the teams would have communication devices for themselves and he would have access to both lines.

After Ochako had regained some strength, the hero team entered the building through the window. They sneaked through the corridors, heading to the stairs.

The villain team slowly explored the fourth floor, but at a faster rate than the hero team. They were able to sweep it quickly as Tenya ran through.

The hero team could hear him running, so they started running towards the stairs.

Katsuki, after telling his teammate to run through the fourth floor, waited near the stairs on the third floor. Judging by his reaction, the class could see that he knew where his enemies were. He knelt near the door and prepared.

"This … this looks like the hero team is disadvantaged … !" some of the class exclaimed, seeing how difficult it would be to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold.

"Now, now! We're trying to turn you into heroes! You must go beyond … ! Say it with me, everyone!"

"Plus Ultra … !" Tsuyu said it quietly, too engrossed in her worry as she watched as Katsuki sprang his trap.

The boy jumped from around the corner, and Izuku pushed Ochako to the ground as the boy's explosion covered most of his head.

The room must have been a bit cold as she saw the boy fall to the ground as the smoke cleared away from the wall, Katsuki having his hand to the communicator near his ear.

Tenya started to rush over to the stairs, having been alerted by either the explosion or the transmission she thought the boy had made.

The hero team slowly stood up, and Katsuki attempted another attack, his right fist cocked back.

Izuku caught it, and flipped him onto his back. Both he and Ochako went for his arms and legs, trying to tie the capture tape as quickly as they could.

They were too late. Tenya descended the stairs and pushed the two off and away from his teammate. They skidded a little against the ground, but no serious damage had been done to either side.

"That boy had the highest score in the practical exam, didn't he? And the other one just threw him over his shoulder!"

"God, that guy's annoying! Hope he had some sense knocked into him!"

"That was a really good dodge that Midoriya kid made! He has some good instincts!"

The class were chattering among themselves as they watched the violence unfold.

The trial had started only a few minutes ago, so the hero team still had a chance to win.

Tsuyu realized that this situation was very unfavorable for the hero team. Facing Katsuki and Tenya at the same time was the worst thing that could happen, but Katsuki was restricted from doing anything too powerful, as his own ally would get caught in the backlash.

Only if the boy actually considered Tenya an ally. The boy launched himself with an explosion, obscuring Tenya's position and tried to assault the hero team again. As he was passing by, Ochako reached out and tapped his hand, and even when he was able to hit her with a blast, he floated off and into the ceiling.

Izuku pulled her to the side as Tenya rushed the two again, passing them by and jumping up to pull Katsuki down. The explosive boy didn't accept the assist, and instead he kicked off of the ceiling towards the two.

Ochako pressed her fingertips together, and Katsuki dropped down to the ground. Before he hit the ground, he let out a few explosions, reorienting himself, and swung his fist at the girl.

"Wow … he's got such great reflexes … ! It's too bad he's a complete ass!"

Izuku grabbed onto his arm, and even with the explosion in his face, he forced the boy down onto the ground and subdued him. He yelled at his teammate, and the girl started to run up the stairs.

Katsuki was also yelling, and Tenya ran through the entire floor, bypassing Izuku and tried to go up the stairs, except Izuku had released Katsuki and grabbed Tenya's foot, pulling him off his feet and dragging him down the stairs.

Ochako was halfway up the stairs leading to the fifth floor.

Katsuki pulled his arm up, grabbing a pin that popped out from his gloves with a finger. He yelled something to Tenya, and the boy ran to one of the far rooms, exiting through the window.

The girl reached the fifth floor as Katsuki pulled it out of his glove, aiming to the side of Izuku.

The building, that the class was in, shook. It was odd given that it was at least a mile away from the trial area. The cameras blinked as the lights in the building were knocked out and the natural light of the sun was causing some glare.

Light was pouring in through the new hole that had appeared in the side of the building. The stairs were completely destroyed.

A camera caught video of Ochako falling down, but she used her quirk and climbed back onto the fifth floor. Tenya flew in through the far window and stared at the kneeling girl.

Izuku was lying on his front, after falling away from the now destroyed stairs. His exposed back was burned as the explosion had been too close.

" … W-What the hell?!" Eiichiro, the red haired boy that sat to her side, spoke up, "Isn't this a test?! He's trying to kill him!"

" … Don't do that again, Bakugou." she couldn't believe it, "Destroying your own base is not the greatest idea. I'll deduct some points if you do something like that again!"

"S-Shouldn't you stop them … ? That looks … bad …" one of the soft-spoken boys, a large boy that looked like a rock, said aloud.

All Might pretended not to hear him, but Izuku was slowly picking himself up off of the ground. Katsuki had his eye on the injured boy, and kicked him in the side.

Izuku took this chance to wrap one of the capture bands he had around his ankle. In surprise, Katsuki pulled back and the fallen boy tripped him.

Tenya was cornering Ochako, and the girl floated herself over the boy, but it looked harsh as the backlash was starting to affect her.

Katsuki got back up and chased after Izuku, who was heading to the fire escape.

Izuku jumped through the open window, but the camera didn't catch anything on the outside. Katsuki proceeded to blow up the entire wall, and beyond that, the class could see that Izuku was climbing up the remains of the fire escape.

The volatile boy was starting to lose it, and he tried to hurt the other boy, but it was only destroying his only way of reaching him, so he had to stop and use his explosive power to follow him to the fifth floor.

The cameras on the fifth floor showed Izuku crashing through the room that had Ochako and Tenya in it. He proceeded to tackle his enemy to the ground and was shouting at his teammate.

Ochako ran away, searching for the objective just as Katsuki entered the room.

Explosively, the boy launched himself at the girl, but Izuku had once again, stopped his advance.

By tying the capture tape around one of his wrists and Katsuki's.

Ochako glanced back to see Izuku get a face full of explosion, but she left at his instruction.

Tenya was about to give chase, but Izuku had also tied another tape around his ankle and Tenya's. Where he had gotten the tape, Tsuyu didn't know, but she felt a pit form in her stomach as she saw Katsuki become enraged.

For a second, Katsuki assaulted Izuku, and by proxy, his teammate, but he seemed to have an idea.

He blew the wall up to see Ochako approaching the objective.

With a face full of rage, he launched himself, along with Izuku and Tenya, to try and capture the girl.

Ochako slapped the boy's face, and he floated by her, before she touched the objective.

* * *

"The Hero Team … wins!"

The two teams came in after that, looking haggard and hurt, and the two that were in the best condition was Katsuki and Ochako.

There was a little peer critique at the end, with Ochako being elected as the one who performed the best. She listened to orders, she was proactive, and she didn't hesitate in the face of the enemy. Tenya was second best, listening to orders, but not being able to contribute too much outside of that, although it wasn't as though he didn't try.

Izuku and Katsuki were tied for worst, since Katsuki was too emotional during the fight, and Izuku had taken too much upon himself and hadn't relied on his teammate as much as he should have.

* * *

Tsuyu wanted to say a lot of things to her friends, but her turn was right after theirs. She was on the villain team, going up against Team C. Luckily, they had different buildings for each test, so they wouldn't have to deal with a giant hole gouged out of the upper floors.

"Where do you think we should put the missile?"

" … Wherever you wish. I do not particularly mind, as long as we're not covered in darkness."

"Is it your quirk? I believe I heard you call it Dark Shadow."

"With a will of its own, it's my dark companion. The darker it gets, the more power it has, but it's uncontrollable and it will quickly overwhelm me."

"So, the lighter it is, the weaker?"

He nodded, and his little shadow friend gave a positive exclamation.

"I see. So, maybe we should put it on the first floor?"

Fumikage didn't ask why she wanted it to stay there, but he complied. They placed it in the center.

After that, she started to break the lights.

" … What are you doing?"

"Your quirk is stronger in the dark, right? It'll be really dark in there."

"I … cannot guarantee your safety if it's pitch black."

"Well … how about I break the lights in the center room on every floor? As well as some near the windows? That way, they won't really know where we are and you can guard the thing?"

" … Sorry, but I don't want to go into the darkness."

She had already broken the lights in their objective room.

"There's no way to convince you to go in there?"

"Only if they're close to securing it."

"Alright, we'll just have to surprise them and take them down. I don't know the purple head's quirk, but the girl's got some sort of creation ability."

"She can illuminate the darkness."

"I suppose she could make a flashlight or something. That wouldn't be good for your little shadow."

She ignored how the shadow complained at being called little, and they continued to prepare.

* * *

The bang went off, and their trial started.

The plan was to split up and guard the objective on the first floor. They wouldn't try to spread out and search for the heroes, like Katsuki and Tenya did.

Tsuyu would hide in the dark, while Fumikage would be in front of the door.

It didn't take very long for the heroes to make their move.

"You … ! Perverted … ! How shameful … !" there were bits and pieces from the girl, but Tsuyu was extremely glad that she wasn't teamed up with that pervert.

It was unfortunate for the girl, but this way, their teamwork would be bad. Thinking about it, Izuku and Katsuki would have better teamwork than these two.

She hid in the corner between the ceiling and the wall. Her position was good to ambush anyone coming through the window to reach the objective.

There was a funny noise coming from the wall, as though something squishy and organic was being pressed against it. It was unnerving, but she had to ignore it for the sake of stealth.

Something was tossed through the window, and with a quick look, she recognized it as a stun grenade.

It was a good throw. Her ears rang and her vision was robbed from her. Still, she didn't fall or move away from the corner. Being stunned like this wasn't very good for her balance.

Tsuyu waited, but she wasn't found. The room she had been in was dark to begin with, and hopefully, they weren't quite aware of where she was.

A few minutes passed, and her vision had recovered a little. Her ears were still ringing, but she wasn't captured. The spent stun grenade was still burning a little in the middle of the room.

The door leading to the room nearby was open, so she assumed that the hero team had made their way to the center room.

Slinking down from the wall, she peered through the doorway to see her teammate fighting the girl. His little shadow was pushing her back, but Fumikage was still by the entrance to the center room. He must have been stunned as well, but since his shadow wasn't "alive", it recovered much quicker than they had.

"What the-?!" the girl was surprised to see her, so Tsuyu quickly kicked her into the wall and Fumikage's shadow wrapped around her.

The girl was struggling, but the shadow didn't seem to be phased in any way, and she lay there.

"Little shadow," it bristled at the remark, "show me her hands so I can capture her."

It complied, and she wrapped the capture tape around the girl's wrists.

" … It seems, it's my loss."

"Sorry, but we want to win too."

"No, don't apologize." the girl's disposition was rather pleasant, "I wonder how you avoided my grenades?"

"I didn't."

"Really?" Tsuyu had to admit, the girl was nice to talk to, "Where were you hiding?"

"In the dark room, near the ceiling."

"Ah, I see. I should have chosen that room to infiltrate first."

"You couldn't help it. There was no way of knowing where we were before you entered."

Fumikage was starting to get up, so capturing the other hero was more important.

"My name's Asui Tsuyu, but you can call me Tsuyu."

"Yaoyorozu Momo." Tsuyu would have shaken her hand if she wasn't tied up, "I … be careful of my teammate. He's shameless."

* * *

"The Villain Team … wins!"

The match was over as soon as they found the other hero. He tried to throw the purple balls that grew out of his head at them, but it was easy avoiding them and Fumikage's shadow passed through them.

"Man … this sucks!" the frog girl thought that Momo had lost with some grace, while he was openly complaining against the shadow.

"How the hell were we supposed to compete with that?! At least let me grope you a little … !"

"Momo was right. You are pretty shameless." it was a little embarrassing how quickly he had lost. They had found him on the fifth floor, searching for the target, and taken him down within seconds.

"What's wrong with that … ?! If we had gone with my plan, at least I would be satisfied!"

" … Please, don't explain it to us. Face defeat with some dignity." Fumikage didn't seem too happy after being hit by one of the purple balls. His shadow was strong and fast, but he was a little slower than it.

"Fuck dignity! Do I look like the kind of guy that even has that sort of thing?! I have balls on my head! Balls! I hope you enjoy it being stuck there for the next few hours because that's how long it'll take to remove my balls from your face!"

" … You're disgusting." Tsuyu didn't like how he had to phrase it in such a way. Her partner had been hit on his face, but since his face was birdlike, he could still see past it.

"You look like a turkey! A friggin turkey-!"

One of his balls was plucked from his head and shoved into his mouth, courtesy of Fumikage's shadow.

* * *

Their peer review was average. She and Fumikage didn't do much, since their opponents weren't even working together. Momo was praised since she had an okay plan, but since she wasn't able to work with Mineta Minoru, the purple headed pervert, and she was taken down. Minoru easily got the worse score, to his obvious dissatisfaction, but he couldn't express it in words since the ball was lodged in his mouth. After the review was over, Fumikage's shadow removed the ball from his mouth, but the bird headed boy wasn't so lucky as the one on him remained stuck.

The rest of the class was impressive. Tsuyu almost wished that she had a challenge after seeing the rest . Kyouka and a blonde kid with a lightning bolt in his hair did very well against the red head and another classmate that had tape coming from his elbows. The ice boy, who had impressed everyone in Aizawa's test, had ended his match in an instant.

* * *

After all the trials were done, All Might told them to head to their next class, and he quickly made his exit.

The students went to their respective changing rooms to clean up and store their costumes to be washed and repaired.

"Hey, hey, Asui!" the pink skinned girl that sat directly in front of her was pretty energetic, even when she was half naked, "Nice to meet you! I'm Ashido Mina! I love your outfit!"

Mina had been much active within the class, and she had started conversations with some of the other students, which is why she never got the chance.

" … It didn't come out how I wanted to, but thank you. Call me Tsuyu."

"Call me Mina then!" the girl was laughing happily, "I've seen you staring over at Midoriya and Bakugou a bunch!"

That statement managed to get the attention of her class, but they didn't look like they were going to stop what they were doing.

"They're childhood friends of mine. I used to live near them."

"Really? What's the angle here, is there an angle here?!" Tsuyu didn't know what she was talking about, but she seemed a little hyper, "Childhood friends?! You said you used to live near them, so you moved away?!"

"Yes, when I was about nine. My sister was born and we needed a bigger house."

"Could it be … ?! Yes, I think I can see it!"

"What can you see?"

"There's love … !"

The room suddenly felt smaller to the frog girl and she started to dress a little faster.

"I think you're mistaken-"

"No, no, no! I don't want to be mistaken! It's too exciting!" the girl was a too hyper, "I can see it now! Rivals in love! Or … hehehe … ! Rivals, in love-!"

It was too sudden for Tsuyu, and a croak squeezed through her lips as a few giggles erupted from around the room.

"Eh? What was that?" the pink girl was starting to calm down, unsure what the noise meant.

"Sorry, but that was a bit funny. I can't see that no matter how hard I try."

"Are you sure? It's pretty clear to me! Who knows how many physical moments they've had while you were away!"

Letting out a calming sigh, Tsuyu was prepared this time.

"Katsuki bullied Izuku while I was gone."

"Bullied-? Oh! Um … sorry about that." Mina started to settle down, which was good for the frog girl.

"Izuku's tougher than you think, but he's a coward sometimes."

"He was really impressive though, wasn't he?!" she looked around the room, seeing a few people agree with her, "Midoriya took that bomb right in the face and he didn't back down! It's … well, it's a little scary but I thought he was cool!"

"Hm … I think you should tell him that. He might not respond, since he's so shy."

"Alright! I'll let him know!" smiling, Mina removed her entire costume, and Tsuyu couldn't help but note that her skin really was completely pink.

* * *

"Kacchan … you dumbass! It's because I admire you so much, I didn't want to use my quirk!"

"I told you to leave it, Deku! I don't want to hear it!"

"I was super worried because I can't control it! I just wanted to let you know … that I'm too weak as I am now, but I'll get much stronger later! So strong, I'll overcome you with my own strength!"

The two boys were standing in front of the boy's changing room. They had already changed into their school uniforms and it appeared that the other boys had already left.

Otherwise, Tsuyu wouldn't be able to explain why she and the rest of the girls were seeing this scene.

"Admire … ?" "Did you hear him, he's going to over~come Bakugou!" "He can't help it, he can't control it at all!"

The two boys realized that they had an audience and saw the girls huddled around the corner.

"A-Ah … ! Wait, no! I-It's not what it looks like!"

"I can see it! It's a confession, Tsuyu … !"

"T-Tsuyu-?!" "Asui-?!"

They both looked to her in shock. Izuku was sweating buckets and shaking, while Katsuki's expression was one of horror.

" … Hey, wait … it wasn't supposed to be this way …" staring listlessly at them, she couldn't help saying it monotonously, adding a bit of disbelief to her voice.

"You fucking, god damn, piece of shit, DEKU!" Katsuki roared at the other boy, explosions from his palms blasting the other boy, "I'll show you … ! I'm going to be the best! You hear me?! The best … ! So don't you dare think you're going to win again!" and growling at the girls, he left.

"Woah … that guy's got a short fuse …"

Izuku, covered in soot, sighed as they watched the other boy rage off.

"Izuku, that was a pretty poor confession if I ever saw one."

" … T-That wasn't a confession. You would know if it-" he clamped up, and turning a deep shade of red, he ran off.

"Ah, he is a coward."

Watching the green haired boy trip over his own feet, Tsuyu agreed.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, everyone! Hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

 **I don't know who teaches what and at what time, so I made stuff up. Hopefully, I remember that. Don't know if I would change it though, seeing as it's not too important, plot wise.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

"Hey, excuse me, you two! How's it like learning from Yuuei Academy?! What's All Might like?!"

"Mighty." Tsuyu's reply was curt as she pulled Izuku away from the inquisitive reporters that swarmed the entrance to their school.

It was only the third day of school, and the press had taken every opportunity to question the students as they entered the school grounds. The entrance had a special gate that would prevent anyone that wasn't carrying a special ID, which they had in the form of their student ID cards.

"They're really going at it, aren't they ... " Izuku muttered as she held onto his arm, pulling him to the main building.

"Don't stop for them, Izuku. Anything you tell them might be misconstrued."

"Yeah, it would be a bad idea if I were to say anything." he moved his backpack so it wasn't brushing against her, "I'm not good with strangers. Thanks for walking with me from the station!"

" ... It's no problem. Keep walking with me from now on. Also, this weekend we're going to be having a get together at my house, if you want ... "

'Yeah! I'll go! Anyone else coming?"

"I was planning on inviting a few classmates."

"Erm ... is Kacchan-?"

"No." it was rather cold, but she was still a little upset from yesterday, "He needs to cool off a bit, maybe find some other friends to hang out with for a while."

" ... Yeah, I guess ... " it was unsettling to see the boy nervously scratch at his head.

" ... You didn't really confess to him?"

"No!" it was a relief to Tsuyu to see him get upset, "... Why did you have to see that? I was only trying to cheer him up ... "

"I know." smiling, she leaned against his shoulder, enjoying how tense he became, "You're too kind, Izuku-"

"Ugh!" they were interrupted by someone snorting in disgust, "Go find a ditch and die in it, normalfags!"

It was Minoru, the purple pervert who had been against her in the hero trials. He had arrived moments after they had, but they were taking too much time talking, and they were standing in his way.

"Tch, I thought you were like me, Midoriya! Instead, you're fucking around on the third day!" the boy was practically crying tears of blood as he scowled at Izuku.

"F-Fucking around?! W-Wait a second-!"

"Stay out of it, Mineta. Izuku's too pure for that sort of thing."

"Th-That's what you're arguing against?!"

"What would that make you then?!" a terribly lewd expression formed on his tear-stained face, "That was one seriously sexy costume you had on yester-!"

Being reminded about her costume by the worst person to do so was too much for her, and Tsuyu whacked him with her tongue. It caught the pervert and Izuku off guard as they stared at her in shock.

"T-Tsuyu ... !" Izuku reacted as she thought he would, in disbelief, but she felt that he would understand her if he knew how long the pervert had stared at her.

"D-Damn! That was hot!" Minoru's reaction was incredibly disappointing, "You can whip me all day with that tongue of yours! Please, I'm begging you!"

"Annoying-!"

"H-Hey, stop that!" it was surprising to see the boy standing up for her, but he didn't need to, "Okay, hold on! Aren't we classmates? There's no need for violence!"

Although she was annoyed, Tsuyu did her best to calm down. It wouldn't be good to attack her classmates simply because they upset her.

"Stay out of this, traitor! There's no way you'd understand me since you've got a hot girlfrie-!"

After hitting the small boy again with her tongue, Tsuyu's arm was pulled and she let herself be dragged away by her friend as he ran down the halls.

* * *

Izuku took her to a part of the school that would be empty for now. It was the beginning of school, but everyone was getting ready for homeroom, not gym.

" ... Just so you know, I wasn't enjoying that." she must have been going through a hot flash. The stressful environment of school, villain attacks, and social pressures must have forced her period to be sooner. That was the only way she could explain the warmness in her cheeks.

"Ne ... Neither was I!" he was trying to catch his breath. It must have been from the emotional strain, rather than the physical part because she had seen him do much more strenuous activities than running away from a pervert.

Tsuyu watched his face, to see if it would show any signs of embarrassment. Putting a hand on his shoulder to help the boy recover, she did her best to ignore what Minoru had almost called her.

Beyond the gasps of air he took in, the boy was wincing as he settled down.

"We didn't have to run. That's ... as though we're admitting that he's right."

"I don't think you had to hit him, Tsuyu." he gave her a slight grimace, "I mean, I know that you might have taken offense to what he was saying, but using violence might be a bit much ..."

"... It's not that I was too offended ..." something felt wrong to the frog girl.

"I don't know why Mineta thought we were ... you know?" he couldn't be this dense, "I gotta tell him that's not how it is later ..."

"Shouldn't you both be somewhere right now?"

They jumped, recognizing the voice as their homeroom teacher. They didn't know where it was coming from at first, but Aizawa slowly got up and out of his sleeping bag from around the corner.

"Let's go! It's time for class! Stop bothering me with your ... relationship issues-"

"N-No! H-Hold on! We're just friends!" the faintly ardent argument he rose was depressing. Combined with his earlier statement, it was a little cruel, "We're on our way to class right now, Mr. Aizawa!"

"I really don't care, but make sure it won't affect your studies. It's true there are some heroes that form romantic bonds, but those can be used against you." the teacher gave them some advice before he forced them away.

* * *

"Alright, I've looked over your grades, and I have a few things to say."

Aizawa glanced about the room, gathering his thoughts.

"Bakugou," the boy raised his head, "Learn how to calm down and stop being such a child. You will become better."

" ... Got it." Katsuki grit his teeth and took the criticism, possibly the first time she had seen him do so.

"Mineta."

"H-Huh?!" Minoru wasn't paying too much attention to the teacher, instead he was ogling some of the girls to Tsuyu's disgust.

"Trying to grope your colleague is stupid, and you might have been able to do more if you had worked together."

" ... Yes, Mr. Aizawa."

"Now then, homeroom duties. This is a little sudden, but ... "

The class prepared themselves, thinking that the teacher was going to spring another trap on them.

"It's time to choose a class president!"

A chorus of shouts and yells erupted from the students. Tsuyu refrained, and thought who should be the future leader of the class.

"I ... I suggest we hold an election!" the bespectacled boy behind her announced to the class, "That way, the one fit to be president will be elected!"

It wasn't a great decision, as some of their classmates pointed out, but it was accepted and they were holding a vote.

It was tough to choose who should be class president. It would be a great experience to be the leader of the class of future heroes.

She had taken a few minutes to decide, but she finally wrote a name down and turned it in.

* * *

The votes were tallied and the results were displayed on the board.

"The fuck?! I only got one?!"

Some of the students were upset, but the only audible one was Katsuki.

Izuku and Momo were standing in front. The green haired boy was the persident, and the girl was the vice-president.

He had gotten three votes, and she had two.

Although Tsuyu didn't vote for herself, she had one vote.

"Alright, let's stop wasting time!" Aizawa didn't care about the whole process, and so they continued their class.

* * *

Several times during or between classes, Tsuyu would take a look at Izuku. Katsuki, who sat in front of him, did his best to ignore everyone in the class and would stare at the instructor with a bit of irritation. She knew he didn't need to take notes, knowing his incredible ability to learn and memorize most things. He was also probably still upset from not winning the election.

True to his word, Minoru would always be muttering in the corner, behind Izuku. It wasn't mumble-mode level muttering, but it was still unsettling to know what he was talking about.

It was even worse when she saw that Momo sat behind Minoru. The poor girl was trying her best to take notes, but Tsuyu could tell Minoru was affecting her concentration.

"Tsuyu!" Mina whispered to her as their instructor, Cementoss, left the room, "You keep looking over at Midoriya! Is there something between you two? A ... little bit more than friendship ...?"

"No ... we're just friends."

"Um ... are you okay? I mean, you don't sound too hot ... "

"I'm ... " a sigh escaped her lips and she set her chin on top of her forearms, "I don't know. I think I feel alright."

"Well, uh, we're going out to karaoke later on! Do you want to come?"

"Hm ... " it was tempting. There was no need to home early for her siblings, since they've been taking care of themselves as of late, "Can I bring some people?"

"They'd have to pay for themselves, but sure! The more, the merrier!" Present Mic walked in, preparing to teach their English lesson.

"We don't have to be good at singing, do we? Izuku's tone deaf."

"Eh~? Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two?" her question was met with an excited grin from the pink girl, but she didn't feel as though she could return even a smile.

" ... No. We're just friends ... " it was a quiet murmur, and her friend had a worried expression, but class was starting.

* * *

"Karaoke? That sounds fun! But, I don't have any-"

"My treat."

"Yay! You're the best, Tsuyu!" Ochako hugged the frog girl happily from across the table.

"Hey! Get off the table!" Iida was making weird gestures with his hands as he berated his friend, "If you're going to hug, do it properly!"

A joke made its way to her lips, but she refrained. It didn't feel like a good moment. Ochako pulled back hesitantly as she slowly ate some rice.

"Are ... you okay, Tsuyu?"

"... Yeah."

"Um ... I-I suppose hugging in such a way is not too mistaken ..."

"You can always show us how to hug properly later, Tenya."

"W-What are you saying?! Th-That's ... !"

"A joke." she looked across the table to see Izuku with a worried expression.

"Is something wrong?"

He squirmed around in his seat while the other two looked at them weirdly. Tsuyu didn't know why, since she was simply eating her lunch with them.

" ... So, are you coming too, Tenya?"

"I must decline, for my brother is spending the day with me!"

"Izuku-?"

"Hey, Iida, your brother wouldn't happen to be ... Ingenium, would he?" ignoring her, Izuku started speaking to Tenya.

"Eh?! That famous hero group?! Hey, Iida! Is that true?!"

"Mu ... I don't really want it to be known, but yes! My brother is the great Ingenium!"

Izuku flinched as she kicked his shin. The other two didn't notice.

"That means you're a rich kid!"

"Y-Yes, I suppose I would be."

She could feel him shuddering as she stabbed the toe of her shoe into his leg. Pain painted his expression as he stared at her.

" ... So, if I marry you, I'd get a lot of money?!"

"W-What are you thinking, Uraraka?!"

Slipping out of her shoe, Tsuyu slid her foot down his shin, up his calf, and repeated the process. She could see his face heat up and he looked down.

Izuku wouldn't get away from her so easily. Tsuyu dug her heel into his foot until he begged at her with pleading eyes. Then, she continued what she was doing before.

"It's a joke, Iida! Relax! It's true, but I want to be independent!"

"You ... You really do say whatever comes to your mind, don't you?!"

"Don't be so stiff! Hey, Tsuyu, where's it at?"

"We're ... " she slipped her shoe onto her foot, "... going with Mina. She's the one who's organizing this."

"Who's coming?"

"Dunno. You are the only two I know that's going."

"W-Wait ... !" finding his voice, Izuku tried to speak up, "W-Why are you decid-!"

The cafeteria erupted in alarms. The students were stunned by the loud sounds and bright red lights.

"Uh oh ... this doesn't look good." muttering underneath the alarms, Tsuyu saw the students beginning to panic.

* * *

There was a procedure in place for events such as this one. They had covered in in the first two days about what they should do in case of alarms, and so had their classmates and upperclassmen.

And in the end, Tsuyu still found herself being pushed against the crowds of students that rushed to exit the building.

It was pandemonium ever since they had left the table, and she wished they had reconsidered their decision. It was important that they exit, in case it was an attack, but this level of panic had mostly affected the Business and Support departments at U.A.

Squeezed between a few people was uncomfortable, given that she was smaller than most. It didn't help that too many people were in her personal space.

Pursing her lips, she had to resist the urge to slap people with her tongue as she felt stranger's limbs smack into her body. They would shove, brush against her, and sometimes, they would even grab at her shoulders and other parts she wanted to hide away.

"T-Tsuyu! There you are!"

Someone pulled her away from the center, and closer to the wall. Unfortunately, in doing that, she was forced between the person and said wall.

"I've bee- ow! Looking for you!" Izuku told her, even as his chest was shoved in her face, "I lost the others, an- gah!"

He did his best to not squash her with his body, but the crowd was too wild. Tsuyu let out a small croak of pain as he was flat against her.

"S-Sorry!" he started pushing back against the students, giving her some room to breathe, "Hey! Cut it out already! You're hurting someone over here!"

His shouting didn't work, although his intervention had prevented her from becoming a pancake. Izuku was still a little close, but it wasn't that bad for her.

Expectantly, Tsuyu looked up at Izuku, but saw that he didn't have a hint of red on his face. It was a little disappointing, but she felt proud that he could be so close to her without acting embarrassed.

" ... My chest hurts, Izuku."

"A-Ah ... !" he did his best to relieve some of the pressure against her, but it was in vain as the crowd pushed back.

It was a little painful, but not something she couldn't endure. It was too soon for him to be too comfortable with physical contact with her.

"I lost Iida and Uraraka! I can't make sense of this crowd at all ... !"

" ... Are you coming to the party?"

A particularly rough push forced him closer, and she put up her hands to try and prevent him from getting too close.

"What?! Do you think now's a good time to talk about it?!" giving her an incredulous face, he sighed, "I mean, yeah. I'll go, but this isn't the time to talk about that!"

" ... Thank you." her arms slipped around his back as she hugged him.

Oddly, he frowned as he continued to protect her.

"Look ... I'm sorry about earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"A-About earlier ... when we were talking to Mr. Aizawa. I ... said something that made you sad."

"Sad? I don't think I was sad?"

"You tilt your head forward, shadowing your eyes, you look lazier, talk less, your eyes wander a bit as well, your lips are tighter, and you become ... violent."

It had been a while since his last mumbling session, but he snapped out of it quickly enough.

"... I'm sorry too. For kicking you ..." thinking back, she must have been a little depressed.

"I-I kind of deserved it. I wasn't ... really sure on how to cheer you up." Tsuyu could feel his body heat increase, "P-Plus ... I already said I-I wouldn't leave you alo-"

"EVERYONE!" it was loud, violent, and it shook her from some sort of stupor, "There's nothing wrong! It's the press! Everything's alright ... !"

Tenya, shaped like a human exit sign, was plastered against the portion of the wall above the nearest doorway. The actual exit sign was underneath him.

The mob of students started to calm down, and Izuku, no longer forced against her, retreated a few steps away.

"A-Anyway, we should probably help Iida down."

" ... You were looking at my eyes and lips?"

"D-Don't try to make it seem like something perverted! You kept staring at me in class!"

* * *

"Ah, it's Uraraka and Midoriya! Hey!" a pink hand waved energetically at them as their group met with Mina's.

There was Kyouka, a girl's floating uniform, a blonde boy with a bulky tail, and the other blonde boy with a lightning bolt in his hair.

"Hello again, Kyouka. Ah, I'm Asui Tsuyu, but you can all call me Tsuyu!" she greeted the group, hoping to get along with the unknown classmates.

"I am ... " the blond boy quickly approached her and Ochako, "Kaminari Denki! It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsuyu, and ... "

"Uraraka Ochako!" the bubbly girl wasn't dismayed like she was at the boy's introduction.

"I-I'm Midoriya Izuku!" he bowed deeply towards the new people, "I-It's nice to meet you!"

"Hey dude, Kaminari Denki."

"Stop trying to act cool, Kaminari." Kyouka was quick to chastise the blonde boy, "I'm Jirou Kyouka, although I already know you, Tsuyu."

"Ojiro Mashirao. Nice meeting you." he was more polite than the other boy, and bowed to all of them.

"Ashido Mina! Don't be nervous, Midoriya!" she slapped him across the back, trying to cheer him up, "I mean, you do have a buncha good looking girls like us around, but there's no pressure at all!"

"I think that's the most distressing thing ... "

"Oh, you flatterer!" laughing cheerily, she started to walk away, "The place is just down the road!"

"Hey, hey! Hagakure Tooru's the name!" the girl's uniform bobbed up and down excitedly, "It's so~ great to meet new friends! Here's to hoping we all get along!" the uniform danced around as they started following Mina.

* * *

"So, like, I saw your uniform yesterday, Midoriya, and I was wondering what that was all about?" Tsuyu had a few things to say about Tooru's costume as well, but decided against it.

"He's a rabbit."

"I can answer for myself-"

"And I'm a frog. All we need is a monkey." ignoring her friend, Tsuyu and the group entered the karaoke room.

"Is that a joke? Ojiro here's got a tail like one!"

"Hey, it's not monkey-like at all-"

"I could wear a costume like a monkey! What did you have in mind?!"

"It was a joke, Ochako."

"Ah, one of my friends is like a monkey. He's actually in our class."

"You must be low on energy, since you're a little derpy in the head."

"Hey, just because we worked together one time, it doesn't mean I go derpy all the time, Kyouka!"

"Jirou."

"I can give him a call, so he'd come over and stuff." undeterred, Denki pulled out his cellphone.

"Sure! That'd be alright!" Mina, the group's coordinator, agreed readily to the prospect of more arrivals.

Everyone had paid for themselves, except Tsuyu covered for Ochako. The room was big enough to fit all of them, and it had plenty of songs to choose from. Three couches framed the wall with a table between them, and most of them took their seats.

"Great! He said he'd be here in a minute! Took some convincing though." Tsuyu looked across the list of drinks as Denki finished texting his friend.

"Aw, why'd he need to be convinced? Going out with friends always results in a good time!" Tooru's exaggerated movements were cute as she danced around on the stage, volunteering to be the first singer.

"Ah, something about girls." the list almost slipped out of her fingers.

"Mineta."

"Huh?" they all stared at her as the horror slowly set in.

"You invited Mineta."

"Yeah." Denki, not knowing what he had done, sat there stupidly as she sighed.

"Eh? The purple hair? What's so monkey-like about him?"

"See, Mina, he can climb really well!"

"Yeah, he did that during the trial, didn't he? Hey, Tsuyu! What's he like?"

"A perverted creep."

It didn't take long for the girls to glare at the shrinking Denki.

"H-Hey ... the m-more the m-merrier, right?"

"Okay~! First song is, Kaminari's an idi~ot!"

"W-What?! Hey, guys, help me out here!"

"Eh ... I don't know Mineta that well ... "

"Gah! Midoriya?!"

"Sorry, but it's too much sitting behind him. Now I have to sit here in an enclosed space with a bunch of girls, with him." Izuku looked drained as he leaned against Tsuyu. It helped to restore some of the good mood, but the fact that Minoru was coming was a buzzkill for the frog girl.

"W-Woah, dude! Personal space!"

"It's alright, Denki. Izuku's a childhood friend."

"A-Ah ... well, shit." he sat there and brooded about what he had done, "Sorry, everyone. I didn't know he wasn't well liked. I'll just ... uninvite him-"

"Wait!" "No!"

Tsuyu was surprised when she wasn't the only one to speak for the purple gremlin. Everyone had rejected the idea of ostracizing one of their classmates.

"I mean ... a pervert's still a person, right? Even if it is a pervert ..."

"Yeah ... and imagine how it would feel to be excluded. Even if it is a pervert."

"Jeez ... Kaminari being stupid and inviting a pervert ... better let it come anyway and make the best of it."

"Yeah! Even though Kaminari's a dunce, we shouldn't turn our classmate away! We can just put it in a corner or something!"

"Annoying ... Izuku, stay near me. For the pervert's safety."

"W-Wow ..." the girls' reaction was a bit hostile, but there was no chance of turning back now, "Aren't you all a little severe? Mineta can't be that bad ..."

"Ahaha ... oh, Ojiro. You're a boy, so you don't know what it's like to have a creep look at you!"

"You're invisible, Hagakure ..."

"Kami~nari's an id~iot! So~ is Oji~ro ... !"

"S-Shit ... !"

"Damn it ... ! Midoriya! Do something that would make the girls dislike you!"

"Kaminari!" Kyouka's earlobe stretched out and hit the boy in the head, "Don't drag people down to your level!"

"It's hard for Izuku to get on the bad side of women." looking to her side, she could see Izuku sweating heavily, staring at the coffee table that sat between the sofa's, "He's heavily whipped."

"T-That's not ... " he stopped talking, seeing how she was looking at him.

"Is that you asking for punishment, Izuku?"

Tooru continued to sing about Kaminari and how he messed up, but the rest of the group stared at the two.

"P-Punishment?!" Mina had a scary glint in her eye as she smiled widely at the two.

"Can we punish him too, Tsuyu?!"

"U-Uraraka!"

"Jeez ... I thought this was going to be a night of singing, not punishing ... "

Izuku looked for help from the other boy's, but from their expressions, there was no pity.

"W-Wait, let's talk about this!" all the girls except Kyouka and Tooru were approaching the sitting boy.

"You can all help out, if you want. It's kinda fun."

The boy was a shivering ball of sweat and tears as he tried to hide in the couch, his favorite place based on past experiences. Slowly, Tsuyu grabbed his shoulder.

"C-Come on! Tsuyu ... !" he shouted as he kept hiding, "D-Don't do this to me, please ... !"

"Aw ... he cried out for you, Tsuyu!" Tooru announced on the microphone, ending her round.

"Alright, calm down, everyone. Izuku's fragile."

"So, you weren't serious about punishing him? It looked like it was going to be fun!"

"Nah, sorry, Ochako."

"Phew, thank god!" Kyouka reclined back against the seat, "No offense, but that kind of thing is a bit extreme, even for me."

"Dang, you made it seem like it was going to be so fun!"

"Sorry, Mina. Who's next to sing?"

"Oh, Tsuyu! You should sing!"

She didn't mind singing, but it was a little nerve wracking.

" ... Your punishment is to sing with me, Izuku."

Coming out of his little ball, Izuku looked confused.

"How's that a punishment?"

"A bit smooth there, aren't you?!"

"That wasn't smooth, Kaminari, especially with the tears he's got in his eyes."

Tsuyu took the boy's hand, lead him to the stage, and accepted the mic from Tooru while Izuku got another one from the machine.

"I would have sung with you if you had asked-"

"Shush, or the others will hear." luckily, he had been quiet enough to prevent them from hearing, "I wanted to sing with you ... alright?"

If only the group knew what would happen if she was allowed to sing with him.

The machine had a song she didn't mind trying and selected it. It was a duet song, and she thought it'd be fun with Izuku.

"Okay ... deep breaths, and let's do our best, okay?"

The boy nodded and they prepared to sing.

* * *

"God ... ! Shut up ... !" the door flung open, crashing against the wall as the intruder shouted at Tsuyu and Izuku.

" ... Hey, Mineta." the song was interrupted, so she decided it would be a good time to stop.

"I could hear you out in the hall! The shitty singer and the croaking! Jeez ... ! You two are pretty shameless, you know?!"

"You're one to talk."

"Hey, i-it wasn't that bad ... " it felt better for the frog girl when Mina tried to speak up for her singing, but she knew very well how terrible it was.

"It was really bad."

"Well ... if singing was a weapon, yours would be super deadly!"

Kyouka and Ochako didn't hold back at all and the others were a bit silent.

"Okay, we're done! Who's next?"

"Um ... you were great, Tsuyu ... !" Mina carefully took the mic from her as Izuku set his down and took a seat.

"Thanks, Mina, but I'm pretty satisfied. Don't worry about it!" smiling, she sat next to Izuku and watched as Minoru tried to peak underneath Tooru's skirt.

"Gah-!" a well placed slap stopped him, and at the noise, Tooru realized what he was trying to do and covered herself up.

"You get to sit here." picking him up with tongue, she set him down next to her.

Immediately, the pervert's eyes went straight to her chest, and she stared at him as he shamelessly continued.

"There's nothing wrong with looking, is there?" her tongue was slowly sliding out of her mouth, prepared to be used as a whip again.

"E-Excuse me." Izuku sat down between them, obscuring her from the pervert.

"Stop hogging your girlfriend to yourself ... !"

Tsuyu thought it was a really bad idea to invite Minoru, as she felt the eyes of everyone on them.

"G-Girlfriend?!"

"I knew it! You two were super close!"

"Damn it ... ! Midoriya's more popular than I am ... !"

"Hey, Tsuyu?" Ochako was the only one of them not going completely insane, "Is that true? You're going out with Deku?"

" ... No. We're just f-"

Tsuyu was stopped when a hand clamped down around hers, and she traced it back to Izuku. His face was a dark red, and he was able to keep his eyes on her. In his usual way, she felt extremely awkward, and a little heat rose in her face.

" ... Hm, well ... I guess we're close friends."

"Damn it! I'm so jealous ... !" she quickly understood why Denki and Minoru were friends.

* * *

"That sure was fun!" it was tiring, but she had enjoyed herself.

"Y-Yeah ... it was." the boy next to her was even more tired than she was, after having to occupy Minoru for the most part. They sat on a bench at the train station, waiting for the next train to go home.

The purple headed weirdo was perverted to the bone, but he wasn't too offensive. He only looked at them, albeit he would try to look up their skirts, but he quickly realized that getting punched, getting soaked with stinging poison and acid was terrible. Plus, he wasn't getting on any of their good sides, so he stopped and talked to the other boys.

"I didn't expect Mineta to sing to heavy metal. It was quite ... intense."Izuku had been scared the entire time Minoru had done his part. Partly because the entire time, Minoru had been glaring at him.

"It was the crying of his soul."

"Don't joke about that! He might really be troubled."

"He is the trouble."

" ... I guess perverts are hated forever."

"Thanks to my conditioning, you're perfectly not perverted."

"What do you mean by cond-?"

Tsuyu was fine if the train was late. It didn't matter to her that he stopped talking when she rested her head on his shoulder.

She had been thinking about the boy's actions, and how he looked back at the karaoke room.

"T-Then ... that means this whole time, you've been manipulating me?!"

"Fu fu fu ... it's too late." monotonously, she played along with his over exaggeration, "You're already ensnared in my trap. You are ... " her head was growing heavy, so she set it in his lap, letting out a slow croak, " ... just the way I want you."

His heartbeat was audible through his legs, and she could tell he was quickly reaching critical temperature from her actions.

" ... W-We're still joking around, right?"

"No. I wasn't really."

"I-I-I don't th-think I under-"

"It's alright. Let me use you as a pillow and I'll forgive you for earlier."

Tsuyu was too tired to have him squirming under her head. It would not only excite the boy too much, but it kept putting her into a half-sleep state that she didn't like.

The boy was finally becoming calm, and the train still hadn't arrived.

"Wake me up when the train arrives, okay? I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night on your lap."

Not that she thought it would be bad, but their parents would worry. The last thing they needed was her father killing the boy on the third day of school.

It was pleasant when he started to stroke her head. Possibly, one of the best things he decided to do today.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Holy-! When's the last time I updated?! Is it really this soon?!**

 **As always, I'm not very knowledgeable about some things, so there's that while you're reading this!**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

Villain attacks never did come at the right moments, due to the villains aiming for some sort of weakness. Still, even if it was an inconvenience for her, someone was probably suffering much more than she was.

Tsuyu's train had been stopped by due to complications in one of the train stations. Specifically, the one she had to stop at to transfer to another train. Her train had paused halfway down its route, but it would resume as soon as the issue was resolved.

Time wasn't a problem, since she always left early to meet up with some of her friends, although the only ones that came this early were Tenya, Kyouka, Katsuki, and Momo.

Many of the occupants didn't seem worried at all. There were some children with their parents that would point at the other passengers and laughed, or giggled due to the weird appearances. It wasn't insulting, now that she was older, she realized the replies to such childish behavior were smiles or waves from the people.

After a while, the train started and reached the station, the crisis over. There was a crying family, but they looked alright, and it didn't seem there was too much panic as the police arrested the villain.

There were also a few heroes stationed nearby, and looking carefully, she could see one that she recognized.

Mount Lady was on her knees, reaching down a drain to get something, but it didn't seem like she was successful.

" … Do you need some help?"

"Ah … um, I only dropped my hero ID down the drain." upon closer observation, the woman's suit was torn up. It might explain why there were so many photographers in the area, and the idea that she would be followed around in the future by such people was unnerving.

"Don't worry about it! I'm fine! I'm Mount Lady, after all … !" it was hard to believe the fake grin on her face as she desperately reached through the grate.

Peering into the drain, Tsuyu could see that it was too far for the hero to reach, and if she used her quirk, it would destroy the street and the buildings.

Her tongue had surprised the older woman, but it was easier to reach in, retrieve the ID, and hand it to her than it was to walk away.

"Oh god … it's covered in crap! You didn't have to do that … !"

"It's fine. I'm part frog, so it's not so bad. Besides, I think it's best to help our local heroes in any way we can."

Tsuyu wasn't allowed to turn away as the hero put her hands on her shoulders.

"No! I need to repay you! Do you have time? Of course you do, school hasn't started yet!"

"There's really no ne-"

"No! I insist!" judging by the crazy looks in her eyes, Mount Lady wasn't going to let her go.

* * *

"And then, All Might shows up and wrecks the villain with one punch! One! Unbelievable! And the people, hell I don't even know when he saved them, but they were held in his other arm! What the hell?!"

Tsuyu sat quietly in her seat, lapping up the agar jelly she had been treated to with her tongue. The hero had a lot on her mind, if her complaining was any indication.

"Gah … it's so irritating! That asshole, Kamui, is the only one around here with any real fame! What am I famous for … !" her head hit the table as she moaned, " … a big girl … ! That's what! My only fans are a bunch of creeps and stalkers … !"

"I'm a fan, Mount Lady. You've helped me before."

Mount Lady's eyes shined as she peered up from the table top.

"R-Really? Do you buy all my merchandise, and watch my commercials, and-!"

"I haven't really had much time, sorry."

"Ugh … !" the table was going to break with the amount of trauma the hero was causing it, "Damn it … ! I wish I was as popular as All Might … !"

"He's amazing, isn't he?"

"Of course he is! He's All Might!" despite her jealousy, the lady still knew how great the older hero was, "But he can let us handle a few villains on our own, can't he?!"

"The villain earlier was about to get away."

"Gah-! I thought you were a fan!"

"I am, but that's what the situation was."

" … Some fan …" crestfallen, Mount Lady sighed heavily, " … I want to be stronger, you know? But, I can't grow at all in these small streets …"

"Have you tried controlling it?"

"No! I don't want to!" like a child, the older woman started to pout, "I want to grow big! You hear me?! Bi-!"

"That's alright. It's fine." even Tsuyu had heard about the incident where the hero would destroy buildings and shops before, "Everyone has things they're good at. Maybe move to a different area, an open one?"

"No! It has to be the city!" luckily, she didn't grow to an insane size, "I want to be popular too! Out in the sticks, you're nothing but local news! I want big headlines, and a large amount of publicity!"

"You already have that. You're known for public property destr-"

Crying out loudly, and attracting the attention of others, Mount Lady hit the table with her head. Unfortunately, the table couldn't withstand the abuse, and it broke.

"No … ! Not again … !"

"All Might is special because he alone destroyed a lot of criminal organizations." Tsuyu did her best to ignore what the hero had done, "Many smaller heroes usually start off in groups, and get more popular by taking down more crime."

Out in the distance, she could see the owner of the establishment staring at Mount Lady.

"Guu …" little tears were forming in the corners of her eyes, " … you're right. There's not many heroes nearby, so grouping up together … it'll keep the population safer, but damn it! My popularity …"

"It's better this way in the long run. Not only does it improve your popularity, but you might be able to steal a few from the others or have fans that love you and rest of your group."

"My … group-? Of course!" with a big smile, Mount Lady rose from her seat, "Who said I wasn't going to be the leader! That's a perfect idea! Thanks, kid!"

"If I may ask, how much does popularity play in being a hero? I'm learning to be a hero myself."

"Eh? How important is it? It's the most important! If you're not popular, people ignore you, and when people ignore you, you don't get paid! What's the point in being a hero if you're starving and poor, you know?!" she paused, "Wait a minute, where are you learning to be a hero?"

"Yuuei Academy-"

"Holy shit! You're going to U.A.?! Why didn't you say so?!" she pulled her sleeve back, checking her watch, "Oh my god! You're going to be late! I'll take you there, so don't worry about making it on time!"

"What about the area?"

"That asshole, Kamui, is probably still around, sulking! He's good enough to handle small fry!"

* * *

"Hey, name's Takeyama Yuu! Get me All Might's signature, please … !"

"Asui Tsuyu, Mount Lady. I'll try my best."

"I can sell it for some major cash! I'm depending on you, Asui!" with that, the hero ran off, making sure she wouldn't accidentally smash anything as she changed from big to small, and back again.

Riding on her shoulders was pretty tough, but because she was a hero, Mount Lady was able to use her quirk in public. It wasn't too bad, but the shape changing was hell on Tsuyu's backside as she entered the main school building.

"Woah … it was the real Mount Lady …! What a woman!"

Unfortunately, the first classmate she came across was Minoru.

"Hello, Mineta."

"Hehehe … why'd you come to school on Mount Lady's shoulders, Tsuyu?" the lecherous grin was annoying her, "Playing for both teams? What I should tell Midoriya?"

"If you tell him, he'd probably ask me for an autograph." he followed her down the hall that lead to their classroom.

" ... What the hell? Is something wrong with him? I think I'd at least ask for a three-"

A quick slap with the tongue interrupted him, but she knew that he enjoyed it to an extent. What he didn't enjoy was the poison her tongue had been laced with.

"There's something wrong with you, not Izuku."

"Ow … ! What the hell?! Not my fault you were showing so much-"

"I don't even know how to respond to that, Mineta. Please rephrase."

" … I can't help it, okay? I get really excited when I see pretty girls."

"That's a little better. Maybe if you work on your conversation skills, you could make some female friends."

"Tch, like that will happen! My mindset is, "Oh, if it isn't a lovely- tits!"!"

She slapped him again, due to his language.

"Damn it, Tsuyu!"

"You have to learn, Mineta." they were almost to their classroom, "Even Izuku had to, for some time."

"What? Like a dog? You wanna teach me a few tricks? Maybe I can get a treat?"

"I didn't say that."

"Well, like it matters! I'll show you! I'll be a super cool hero and get a ton of chicks to fall for me! I won't even need to talk to them to make them swoon!"

Opening the door, Tsuyu could see that most of the class was inside. The only one missing was their teacher.

" I hope you learn how serious all of this is. It might seem like fun and games, but heroes' work is never pretty."

"Pff ... ! What do you know? I'll become as famous as All Might!" the purple headed pervert went to his seat behind Izuku, giving the boy a few words that made him look up at her with sparkles in his eyes.

He'd be disappointed in her because she didn't get the autograph.

* * *

"This lunch is so good … !" Ochako's cheeks were stuffed with rice, "I could get used to this … !"

"Again, I must thank you for allowing me to take over your position, Midoriya!"

"No, no! Really, it suits you more than it does me, Iida!"

Izuku had handed over the class president role to Tenya, after the boy had calmed down the mass of panic in the hallway yesterday.

"Yeah, Iida! You've got the glasses and everything!"

"I agree with Ochako, but not for her reasons. This should be a great experience for you, Tenya."

"You guys … thank you!" the boy's exaggerated hand movements conveyed his embarrassment, "I'll be sure to be successful in my duties! I won't let you down!"

"Hey, Tsuyu?" Izuku still had the sparkles in his eyes, "Is it true that you got to talk with Mount Lady?! D-Did you get an autograph?!"

"What did Mineta tell you?"

"He said something about seeing you riding her? I don't think I understood it completely …"

" … A villain attacked the train station."

She ate some of her fish as her friends gasped. The quality of U.A.'s food was unbelievable.

"A-Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I was on the train when it happened, so I didn't see the villain, but I helped Mount Lady a little and she treated me to some jelly."

"You really like jelly, don't you, Tsuyu?"

"Yep. She said All Might helped them out."

"Doesn't it feel like there are a lot of villain attacks? I mean, it's only been four days since the start of U.A. …"

"It is strange …" ever since news that the great hero was going to live in the area, villain attacks had spiked. She could already think of at least three incidents where people were getting hurt by villains, which wasn't normal.

"But All Might is always around! He'll save the day!"

"B-But it isn't good to rely solely on All Might … I mean, he's got to teach classes and stuff …"

"Midoriya is right! The heroes must never rely on one man, which is why we should endeavor to become great heroes!"

"We've still got time for that in the future, but lunch is ending soon. It must be hard to eat when your hands are always moving around."

* * *

"Alright, listen up! We're doing something special for basic hero training today!" Aizawa announced, "Yesterday, you did combat training with All Might, and today, it'll be rescue training supervised by me, All Might, and one other hero."

The class got excited, and Tsuyu understood their feelings. This was what she was good at. Her specialty, and she wanted to learn all she could to rescue others.

"Hey, I'm not done." their teacher's gaze was frightening as they had interrupted him, "You can wear your costume, if you like. It's not mandatory, so you can wear your gym clothes instead. We'll be leaving by bus, so get ready and meet outside." he looked over them for a few seconds, "Alright, I'm done. Don't take too long." finishing his instruction, he unlocked their costume compartments and Tsuyu sighed as she weighed the pros and cons of wearing that outfit again.

* * *

"S-Seriously … this is incredible!" Minoru was staring at the girls as they waited for Aizawa, "Being a hero is great-!"

She slapped him, harder than she had been, and he fell to the ground.

"You … aren't taking any of this seriously, are you?"

"Gah … ! That hurt! Ah … but … am I awakening to something new … ?"

Tsuyu shivered in disgust as the pervert stood up. A pink figure in a leotard approached them hesitantly.

"Hey, Tsuyu? Ignore the creep for a bit, and hang out with us? Okay?"

"Yeah … ! Go hang out with them! I'll just watch!"

Mina flinched as the boy was being creepier than usual, and Tsuyu had to wave her away.

"Here." Tsuyu whacked him again with her tongue as Mina walked back to her group, consisting of all the girls who Minoru had been staring at.

"Ow … ! Why'd you … do … ?"

"It'll help take your nerves down." he became sluggish, and as he was falling over, she held him up with a hand.

"I'm so sleepy …" he tried to reach up to hold himself up, but instead his hand landed where it shouldn't have, "What the h-?"

Dropping him like a rock, she spotted a few more of her friends arriving.

"Midoriya! Nice of you to join us!" Tenya had been the first one to arrive dressed, since he was the class president. He wore his robot-like costume, which the boys had seemed to enjoy, but she thought it was a little too much like the current Ingenium.

"Sorry … ! My costume was destroyed, so I had to wear my gym clothes!" being the last to arrive was Izuku and Ochako. The boy was wearing his gym uniform, but it looked a lot like his costume to begin with, minus the ears.

"Everyone! Form a line, based on your ID number! Let's proceed into the bus in an orderly fashion!"

* * *

Unfortunately for the class president, the bus they were using wasn't like normal buses, so there was no need for a line.

And even more unfortunate than him, Tsuyu stared straight towards Izuku.

"Asui, don't you dare think that lame ass Deku and I have anything but hate for each other!"

To her left, Katsuki was pressed up against her in a provocative way, trying to rile her up.

"So sleepy … but is this heaven? Booby heaven … ?"

And to her right, was a drugged up Minoru who she had to push away so his head wouldn't get stuck to her.

Tsuyu wasn't the most unfortunate one though. Momo was between Minoru and a wall, so he would try to lean up against the polite girl. She noticed his condition and had made him a pillow, but he would actively try to fall into her lap, which was becoming increasingly difficult for the girl to avoid.

"Bakugou, I think you're overreacting! Midoriya's so nice!"

"Yeah! Deku's great! I mean, even if he did confess to you, it's no reason to hate him!"

Mina and Ochako sat on Izuku's sides, trying to defend him from the volatile boy.

"Um … you're a bit close ..." by himself between the two, Izuku looked very nervous and uncomfortable.

"Don't ever say that again, you bright bitch, or I'll kill you."

"Momo, could I get some tape?"

" … Sure, here you go."

She was quick to give Tsuyu some tape. It appeared she liked to help others as she had a smile on her face.

"Thanks." she taped Minoru's head to the seat, making sure that it got attached to the balls on his head.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" he tried to move away from the seat, but since his quirk was super adhesive, he wasn't able to move, and she taped his mouth shut for extra security.

"Katsuki, if you don't want me to tell them embarrassing stories, don't threaten Ochako."

"The fuck?! You wouldn't dare!"

"One time, we were all invited to Katsuki's house-"

"Stop!" Izuku shouted out, gathering the attention of the bus, and Katsuki was sweating next to her.

"Would you like me to continue?"

"Please, Tsuyu! Anything but that one … !" it didn't feel right, dragging Izuku into this, but Katsuki was too obstinate to be stopped by anything other than this one.

"Tch … !" relenting, Katsuki turned away from her, scowling in frustration, but he tried harder to hurt her with his elbow.

"You'll never be popular with that attitude, Katsuki."

"Shut up!"

"You've really known them for a long time, haven't you, Tsuyu?"

"I was gone for a long while, but we grew up together."

"I guess even the strongest kid has some weaknesses ..."

"Tsuyu's got a leash around that mad dog!"

"Hey, Bakugou, chill out man." to his side, sat Eijirou, "Aren't you two friends?"

"Who the hell is this frog's friend?!"

"Tsuyu's nice! And cool! And really smart!"

"I really like Tsuyu!"

"She's much better than you, Bakugou!"

She was touched that many of her classmates spoke up for her, but it wasn't making Katsuki any calmer.

"Hey, hey, Midoriya? Do you have any stories about Tsuyu?"

"U-Um … there's the one where she was the Stomach Lady for a while."

"What? What's that mean?" she stared harshly at her friend, but he wasn't looking at her, and instead, he was trying to turn his head away from the bright girl asking him terrible questions.

"Well, um, it's when Tsuyu-"

Opening her mouth and interrupting Izuku, Tsuyu told her classmates what had happened that day, not feeling guilty in the slightest.

* * *

The bus stopped in front of a large dome, possibly as big as a stadium. With a little excitement, and some pity, the class stepped off of the bus.

Izuku was eerily calm for what she had done to him, but he deserved it. That story was not meant to be told.

Katsuki, in a rage, stormed off of the bus as many of them looked at him with differing emotions.

"I mean … I think I can understand why he hates Midoriya so much ..."

"S-Still, isn't he a bit much? I don't see anything wrong."

"No … it's death to any man. I feel so bad for him ..."

"Shut the fuck up!" explosions burst from his palms as he glared at everyone, "Fuck you all!"

"Quiet, Bakugou, or you're going back to school." Aizawa didn't seem to care about his students' problems, "Let's all go meet the hero that's going to help us with our rescue class."

"Tsuyu … why?" Izuku pitifully tugged at her arm, "Why did you do that …?"

"Don't call me Stomach Lady."

"I-I think it's a great part of you though … I didn't think it was that bad."

"You don't understand a woman's heart. I don't want to be called that, ever again."

She didn't want to listen to his excuses for now. He would pay, later.

* * *

"Hello, everyone! It's nice to meet you, and welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ!" a man spoke through what appeared to be a space suit. They met him on a plateau in the entrance of the dome. Stairs led down to the center plaza while a railing was placed near the edge to prevent anyone from falling.

Looking out at its insides, Tsuyu saw that the dome contained a variety of different environments that heroes may have to rescue people in. The ones that caught her eye was the ship surrounded by water and what appeared to be a city on fire.

"It's the Space Hero, Thirteen!" Izuku, as always, provided a bit of background on the hero as Tsuyu heard some of her other classmates make their own exclamations.

"Hey, hey! Tsuyu! Don't you just love Thirteen?!" Ochako was particular excited to see the hero.

" … Not as much as you, it seems."

"He's so~ cool!" vibrating in place, Ochako was beaming widely at her, "The gentleman that does his best work in rescue situations! I wanna be like him!"

Her enthusiasm was starting to rub off on her because Tsuyu couldn't help but smile.

"Ah!" the bright girl put her hands to her lips, "I saw it!"

"Saw?"

"You smiled!" the girl leaned down to her face with a grin. She was a little close, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"Hey, Thirteen? Where's All Might? Wasn't he supposed to be here before us?" their teacher did his best to continue the lesson, despite his students' inattentiveness.

"It seems, he's reached his daily limit on the morning commute." holding up three space suited fingers, Tsuyu understood on some level that the hero was unavailable, "He's resting in the break room."

" … Jeez, the height of irrationality." sighing, Aizawa rubbed his head and moved next to his colleague, "Alright, whatever. Let's get this started."

"Okay then. Students!" the Space Hero tried to get their attention, "I have a few points to say before we begin! Or four … or five …"

Tsuyu thought the hero must have had a lot on his mind to pass down to them.

"As many of you are aware, my quirk is called Black Hole. It sucks in anything and tears it apart at the atomic level. I've used this power many times to save people, but it can easily be used to kill."

A lot of her classmates were the same. In fact, she had first hand experience with how much quirks could hurt from her friend.

"In this society of ours, quirks are strictly controlled and regulated. It may seem stable and calm, but it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable quirk to take a life. You've already seen the potential you hold with Aizawa's test, and you've witnessed how dangerous quirks can be firsthand with All Might's combat trial."

"But, know this! However dangerous you believe your quirk to be, it is not meant to cause harm! I hope that when you leave here today, you will take with you a new perspective about your future and you will know, deep down, that you are meant to help people!"

The space suit bowed to them.

"That is all! Thank you for listening … !"

Although he spoke through the suit's speakers, Tsuyu could feel his sincerity. He believed that their quirks existed to help others, not to harm them.

Some of the students clapped and cheered, glad to have someone as kind as Thirteen to be teaching them.

" … Alright, we're going to begin with-"

Aizawa spoke up, but quickly moved to the railing.

"Huddle up, and DON'T MOVE!" he was much more alert and alarmed than he had been. It was scary seeing him pull his goggles down over his eyes and unwrapping his scarf, "Thirteen! Protect the students!"

"W-What's going on?"

"What are those things down there? More robots, like in the entrance exam?" a few students were tall enough to see down into the plaza, but Tsuyu herself wasn't able to.

"I said, DON'T MOVE!" Tsuyu jumped at how loud her quiet teacher had become, "Those are villains!"

"V-Villains?!"

"Are they stupid?! Who sneaks into a school of heroes?!"

"There are supposed to be scanners, aren't there? Is it possible they're being jammed?!"

"It's possible. Thirteen! Begin evacuation, and try calling the school! Kaminari," the boy jumped when his name was called, "If they are jamming the signal, try to get something through!"

"O-Okay!"

"Wait, Mr. Aizawa!" Izuku stepped forward, "You can't be thinking of taking the villains on by yourself! Your quirk … it's meant for ambushing and capture! Not all out fi-!"

"No hero is a one trick pony, Midoriya!" and with that final remark, Tsuyu saw Aizawa jump. From her position, he had simply disappeared past the ledge.

"You heard your teacher!" the sounds of fighting almost drowned out Thirteen's synthetic voice, "We've got to go-!"

"I won't allow that!" a booming voice rung in her ears as what looked like shadows converged in front of the group, blocking their retreat.

"Greetings, young fledglings." the converging shadows formed a vague, humanoid figure with the booming voice, "We are the Villain Alliance. I am sorry for the rude introduction, but we have come here … to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace! Now, from what we have learned, he was supposed to be here, but it seems there was a cha-"

During the villain's dialogue, Katsuki and Eijirou jumped for him, attacking the villain with a blast and an arm swipe.

"You talk too much, shit head!"

"Don't underestimate us, bastard!"

" … Yes, that would be unwise. Fledglings or not, you are still hero candidates."

"No! Get back, you two!" Thirteen was trying to move to protect the them, but his suit prevented any speedy maneuvers.

"I pray …" the shadows shot out from the villain, wrapping around Tsuyu and her friends. Some of them screamed as his quirk captured them.

" … That your end will be agonizing!"

* * *

Tsuyu could still hear the screaming as the darkness consumed her, but it wasn't for long. She could only hear one voice, but she was too focused on what was happening to her.

The frog girl was falling through the air, rapidly approaching a large body of water.

Warping. The villain could warp others. She had some experience with this, so she wasn't as dazed when she hit the water with a large splash, followed by two other disruptions in the surface.

Reorienting herself towards the gargled screaming, she saw a small, dark purple boy sinking, surrounded by dangerous looking individuals.

Her tongue shot out quickly, coiling around Minoru and pulled him in before he became chum.

There was still one more person that had been with them. Luckily, her eyes could see well in the water, but even so, it was filled with hostiles.

There were red bubbles coming from a struggle nearby. Swimming quickly, she was able to get close enough to analyze the situation.

Izuku had a shark-like man latched onto his arm, blood spilling out into the water as the villain tore into him with his teeth.

Her feet slammed against the sharkman's head, breaking his jaw and releasing her friend. It might have torn him a little bit, but she couldn't allow the villain to shake his head, ripping even further into Izuku.

Her tongue wrapped around his midsection and the taste of blood invaded her mouth. The crimson liquid sent a terrifying copper taste as she shot upwards to the surface.

Emerging from the depths, she scanned the surface, looking for a safe place to take refuge.

The students were lucky. There was a ship nearby that they could board. Its purpose was unimportant, and she quickly swam for it.

Prioritizing the injured Izuku, she slowly lowered him onto the deck.

"Jeez … your tits are a little … big for a frog." the little purple pervert's fingers trespassed somewhere they shouldn't have for the second time today.

Minoru was violently thrown onto the deck of the ship.

Crawling up the side, she quickly rushed to Izuku, ignoring the pained moans that the other boy let out.

"How bad is it?" her medical knowledge was not very great, so asking her was a bit pointless and it took too much time that they didn't have.

" … Mineta, could you give me a small piece of your hair?"

"It doesn't work that way! They're just balls!" it seems he didn't fully understand the situation as he was still picking himself up from that little toss she gave him.

"This is going to sting, Izuku. Bear with it." taking a glove off, she moved her hand across the tiny tears in his shoulder.

Gritting his teeth, he dealt with the agonizing pain she was sure he was going through.

" … How does it feel?"

Slowly, he moved his arm around a bit, and his confusion was noticeable.

"It's … numb?"

"I can handle your pain, but it's not going to help you out. We should try to bandage it as soon as we can." putting her glove back on, she looked over at his wounds to see a small stream of blood flowing down his arm.

"Right, but first, we gotta get out of this predicament!" she wanted him to stay still for a while longer, but he got up and looked over the water.

Following him, Tsuyu could see that there were heads bobbing at the surface.

"H-Holy shit, Midoriya! What happened to your arm?!"

" … I got attacked, but Tsuyu saved me."

"Oh my god … ! H-Holy shit! Are you going to die-?!"

"Be quiet, Mineta!" he flinched, but if he wanted to be a hero, he shouldn't have played around so much, "Don't say something like that so lightly!"

" … I'll be alright. It only looks bad, but I don't think he got any major blood vessels. Otherwise, it really would be too late for me at this point, unless we can stop the bleeding."

He still had color in his cheeks, and his eyes were still steady. Tsuyu only hoped he wasn't acting strong and wasn't in any immediate danger.

Anymore than they currently were in, anyway.

"In any case, that guy said they were here to kill All Might?"

"That's stupid!" Minoru shouted out, "All Might will just arrive and wham! Bam! There goes the villains!"

"They have a way to beat him." the look on his face wasn't amusing at all to her, "Otherwise, why would they try to pick a fight?"

"M-M-Midoriya! That's wrong, isn't it?! She's wrong!"

" … No, she's right. They must have known about the environments at the least, since those guys are suited for aquatic combat, so it stands that they planned this all out."

A loud splashing, followed by a roar of pain came from the water.

"That fucking brat! I'll kill her!"

It must have been the sharkman from earlier. The voice was a little distorted, possibly due to his broken jaw, but it didn't matter. It proved that their goal was to kill the students.

Cracking noises made her look for the source. Izuku's knuckles were clenched tightly as he stared down at the villains.

"Calm down." the boy looked to her, a mixture of worry and fear, "Nothing good will come from overreacting. We gotta be ca~lm-"

"How the hell are we supposed to be calm?!" Mineta wasn't helping with that attitude, "They want to kill us! Kids! Why the fuck would they want to do this?!"

She thought about hitting him, but on some level, Tsuyu understood his feelings. They weren't heroes, yet, and he had no experience dealing with this sort of thing.

"Shit … ! I don't want to die … ! Not until I've felt up Yaoyorozu … !"

She really wanted to hit him, but restraint and calmness were paramount. She would hit him later.

"A reason … it doesn't matter what their reason is, Mineta, but right now ..."

Izuku had a dangerous glint in his eye, as if he realized something important, and he was going to do something reckless.

"There's no choice left but to fight! To fight for our lives!"

"You're full of shit! You're talking about people who can kill even All Might!"

"Then why did they bring Tsuyu here?"

The two looked to her, and she wanted to know why Izuku brought her into his argument.

" … Why?" he stumbled a bit, realizing his train of thought was still only imaginary.

"A-Ah … it's because this is your area, isn't it?"

Looking over to the raging inferno that was the burning city simulator, she could only agree.

"You're right, this is my element."

"Which means that they don't know what our quirks are! We still have an advantage over them!"

Tsuyu understood. If they were to take them by surprise, they could free themselves and escape this trap.

"Hm … that would explain why they haven't come up and killed us yet. They're being careful."

"Okay, let's see … what do we have that we can use to fight against them?"

"You already know about my Frog Form, Izuku. My tongue and physique should prove useful."

"What about your stomach ejection and poison secretion?"

How he had remembered the two worst qualities she had escaped her.

"W-What's that about ejection? A-And secretion?"

"Tsuyu can throw up her stomach and clean it and she can produce some poi-"

"You can forget those, Mineta." a quick slap silenced Izuku, "They're not helpful. I can make things other than poisons, but nothing more than a painkiller and a sleeping drug."

"I guess I know why you're Stomach Lady. S-Sounds hot ..."

"M-My quirk is super strength …" he ignored her beating Minoru with her tongue, " … but it breaks me. I can only use it a few times. What's yours, Mineta?"

Minoru walked over to one of the cabin walls, placing one of his balls on it.

"These balls grow out of my head and stick to everything but me. They only bounce off me." proving his point, he pressed against it with his hand, but it only bounced back, "Depending on how I feel, they stay longer. They'll grow back quickly, but I start bleeding if I take too many out."

It was really useful. Tsuyu quickly thought about how it could be used to restrain or protect, but then she noticed the tears forming in his eyes.

"God damn it! This is why I'm so hopeless … ! My quirk sucks … !"

"Wait, no! We don't think that at all, right, Tsuyu?!"

A large explosion shook the ship, causing her to fall sideways. Something caught onto her arm and after righting herself, she saw that Izuku had grabbed her.

"Come on down, you little kiddies … !" one of the villains below called out, "We're all ready for you! If you don't come down, we'll make you!"

One of them had split the ship in half.

"What the hell … ?!" their classmate only fell deeper into despair as he perceived a power gap between himself and the villains, "W-We're supposed to fight that?! Shit … ! Shit … !"

Screaming, the boy threw his balls at the water.

"Wait! Stop!" Izuku grabbed onto Minoru, but he was too late, "Damn! You just gave away your- …"

He was looking down at the water, and following his gaze, she could see the villains backing away from the floating balls.

" … You didn't say that they could float."

"What does that have to do with anything!?"

"No, that's good … even though you've revealed your quirk, we-"

"Holy god! You're right … !" openly sobbing, Minoru was quickly deteriorating into a blubbering mess.

" … Mineta, why did you want to become a hero?"

"Shut up … ! How the fuck are you so calm?! We're god damn middle school students! Didn't your boyfriend get pieces ripped out of him?! Aren't we going to die?! What the hell is wrong with you-?!"

"When the enemy is convinced they're going to win, that is your moment!"

"H-Huh?" Tsuyu and Minoru were a little confused by Izuku's words. The frog girl recalled hearing the saying, but couldn't remember exactly where she had heard it.

"All Might said that on a documentary interview once." now she remembered. She had watched it a long time ago with the boy, before she had left. It was about the various struggles the hero had gone through and the dangers of fighting villains. The interviewer had kept asking questions about the glory and publicity that went with fighting villains, and the hero had replied by saying that there were moments where he had almost lost his life.

Moments when even where it looked like a losing battle, he had prevailed simply by being brave and never losing hope.

The shaking boy that bled heavily from one side was doing his best, even now.

"Now … is the only chance we have! This … this is our chance! The only chance we'll get, so please! Help me, you two!"

" … W-What are you …?"

"I'm with you, Izuku." she crouched down, preparing, "What do you want us to do?"

"I'm going to hit the water, and I want Mineta to throw as many balls as he can at them."

"Got it."

"W-Wait …!"

Taking a deep breath, Izuku got up onto the railing of the ship.

"Fucking …!" screaming, he leapt off towards the water, " … Die …!"

"Let's go!" picking up the little pervert, she timed her jump so she could pull him back and run.

"Delaware … !" her friend shouted, about to hit the water.

"He's … scared too …! So how the hell …?!"

"SMA-!" a loud roar, the gushing wind, and the crackling was evidence he was using that power. All Might's power.

The surface of the water smashed apart, funneling into a mini whirlpool that sucked the villains down into the water.

"Tsuyu …!" crying out, Izuku called out for her, and she answered it by catching him with her tongue.

"Mineta …!" this time, he ordered Minoru to do his part, and she hoped he had the balls to help them out.

"Gu …! God … damn it!" his arms became a flurry as he plucked the balls from his head, tossing them down into the pit of water.

"F-Fuck you! A-Asking so much! Being so cool …!" Tsuyu made sure she wasn't going to drop him in his shining moment, "Wh-When all I can do is this! This ... !"

The balls stuck to the villains, and even when they tried to escape, the whirlpool sucked them in and trapped them.

"G-Good job, Mineta …!" Izuku called out as she carried him with her tongue. As she was flying through the air, she could see that his fingers were horrifically broken, "You've saved us …!"

"Fuck you!" the boy continued to scream as blood poured from his head, "F-Fuck you …!"

"Hm … good job." her voice was weirder since her tongue was out, "You both did pretty well."

* * *

"Damn, how far can you jump?!" they were almost to the shore. There was still the hazards the environment had like real whirlpools and other elements that would make it hard to get back, so she put her all into her jump.

"Far."

"T-Tsuyu's the best when it c-comes to water. I don't know anybody that can p-perform so well while wet ..."

"Words, Izuku. Watch them." she didn't hit him, since he was already dealing with a large amount of pain, " … I'm sorry. My painkiller didn't work."

Tsuyu had tried to relieve his pain, but it didn't work. A mild painkiller was enough for minor injuries, but he had broken fingers, so it was relatively ineffective. Unfortunately, he had used the same hand with the bite wound, so he was in even more pain.

"No … it's okay!" taking deep breaths, he held his hand, "I'm glad w-we got away with only this! I thought there was going to-"

Her ears had barely picked up the sound, but it was enough time to pull the two away and watch as a blade of water cut through into the bank.

"Looks like Shigaraki was right! Underestimating you kids would be stupid!"

It must have been the same villain that had destroyed the boat. Most of his body appeared to be made of water, and he had a smug grin on his face.

"D-Damn it! They must have pulled away from the main group!" Tsuyu didn't know whether to let go of her friends or carry them as they stared at the villain.

"S-Shit! Midoriya! What do we do?!"

"You're not going to get me with those tricks again! If all you've got is a little bit of strength and sticky balls, your goose is cooked!" smiling wickedly, the villain readied another water attack.

"F-Fuck you! Who the hell says that anyway?!"

"What does it matter, little guy?! You're going to die regardless!"

It was fast, and even after dodging the first one, he had sent another one to where she had jumped.

Diving down into the water, her leg got cut as she pushed her friends away.

"Izuku! It looks like he can only use water around here! If you take Mineta to shore, I can join up with you soon after!"

" … With that cut on your leg?" wincing, she had hoped he didn't notice. From the blood that was slowly staining the water, it was easy to tell it wasn't a light cut.

"I'm faster than you in the water! Or do you have another-?!"

"I was a fool ..." she didn't like how he wasn't listening, "Thinking that only giving up two fingers … would be enough!"

"Wait-!"

"Time to die, brats-!"

"SMA-!" it was too late. His broken fist was already cocked back, power flowing through his fist and into the air, "-SH!"

The air and water shook as the punch smashed through the water and into the villain. The "little amount of strength" had completely split the artificial sea and into the other side of the shore.

Needless to say, the villain was taken care of, but the price had been too great.

Izuku's arm was completely broken. It hung limply in the air for a second before dropping uselessly down to his side.

"What the hell … was that …?" Minoru was in shock as he gaped at the devastation. The water slowly moved rushed back into place, creating large waves that crashed into the group. The two boys were quickly swept up in the currents.

"Izuku …!" diving down, Tsuyu grabbed onto the two and carried them back to land.

Minoru was okay, but he only stared blankly at Izuku, who's arm was busted up.

She felt cold, but she still tried to see if her friend was conscious. The amount of force he had channeled might have done more than just break his arm.

"Izuku … are you-?!"

"T-Thanks again … T-Tsuyu …!"

It was painful. He didn't even know, but this was too much pain.

"Your power ...!"

"S-Sorry! I … I couldn't t-think of another way …!"

"You …!" it was getting harder to focus, and her head was throbbing, "Make me worry so much …!"

"I'm sorry …!" his eyes were slowly closing, but she could tell his breathing was still strong, and it must have taken a lot out of him to throw the punch.

"Hey, assholes! Quit flirting in front of me!" she felt something slap into her thigh, and preparing to smack the boy, she stopped after seeing what it was.

It was one of his balls, covered in sand.

"It's not perfect, but it should stop that nasty ass cut. It'll leave a scar, but those are hot too."

She did hit him, but it wasn't poisonous.

"Thanks!" he disgusted her, but she was also thankful.

" … Don't touch me so freely, Mineta."

"Can't help it! It's an emergency!" he started putting his balls on Izuku, covering his wounds, "Holy shit! I can't get your hand, but at least it'll stop the bite!"

"How long will it last?" Izuku was a little out of it, so she wanted to wait longer until he was able to move.

"I had a really nice dump this morning, so it should stick all day."

She stared at him, but she realized he would never become uncomfortable, so she tended to Izuku.

" … God … Midoriya is so cool ..."

" … Of course." frowning, she couldn't handle him hurting himself so horribly.

" … Isn't he going to die if he keeps doing that? I mean, look at his arm!"

"I thought I said to not say that so lightly."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it! I … I don't want to see him die. Hell, I hope he gets to feel up Yaoyorozu too."

"Shut up."

"Or do you want him to feel you up? Either way, he shouldn't die here!"

* * *

It didn't take long before Izuku woke up. He was feeling a bit better and so was she. Provided it was with the help of painkillers, but it was better than being dead.

They decided to go see if they could assist Aizawa as he fought off the villain horde in the main plaza. Of course, they wouldn't participate in the fight unless they had to.

But, by the time they got there, the worst was already happening.

* * *

"Meet the Anti-Symbol of Peace, the bio-engineered human, Noumu!" the villain's crackling voice laughed at them, who thought they could do something to help their teacher.

The sound of cracking bones and ripping flesh filled her ears with terror. The grunts of pain filled her with uselessness as she knew there was nothing they could have done.

A large, super muscular, brain exposed monster knelt above their teacher, crushing his arms, bending, and forcing them into painful positions that weren't naturally possible.

"Erasing quirks is pretty neat, but it's useless in the face of pure, crazy strength! You might as well be quirkless!"

The lone villain, the one that looked to be the leader laughed at Aizawa's pain, and there was nothing Tsuyu could do about it.

"M-Midoriya … what do we do now?!" Minoru must have been more terrified than she was, given his natural disposition.

A fissure of shadows formed in the air next to the leader, and the shadowy villain with the warp quirk appeared.

He exchanged words with the leader, but something didn't seem right.

The leader started scratching his neck. Little red flecks of blood covered his nails.

"It's game over …! It's game over … !" he repeated over and over again as he kept scratching.

"Ah. I guess we're leaving then." stopping abruptly, the villain let his arms relax at his sides.

"Leaving … ? Did he just say they were leaving?!" excited and happy, Minoru started to make noise.

"I don't like this, Izuku."

"Yeah … to leave just like that ..."

"I guess we'll leave a few dead kids then."

A hand. For some reason, she was staring at the palm of a hand stained with blood.

It was the head villain. He was covered in hands. They gripped his arms, legs, shoulder, and there was one on his face. And there was one on hers.

She was going to die. The villain could disintegrate things he touched, and right now it was her head. Without being able to do anything, she was going to be killed off, and her friends were going to be next.

"You … really are cool," her head wasn't disintegrated, "Eraserhead!", because her teacher had saved her life.

"GET AWAY from her!" the hand pulled back from her face and she could see Izuku rearing his unhurt arm back, prepared to use his quirk.

"Noumu." the villain drawled out, not even worried about what he was going to do to him.

"SMASH …!"

There was the roar of wind and power, but it died down quickly.

The monster was holding onto Izuku's arm.

It was breaking, crushing, hurting him.

"To imagine, the heroes of the future are using that kind of strength against me! How scary …! You even shouted out, "smash"! Some kind of All Might fan?"

Izuku was too stunned to move. He stood there as his arm was slowly destroyed by the giant.

"Whatever. Die."

She pushed the hand away from her head and tried to reach for Izuku. To see if she could pull him out, knowing that the monster was much stronger than she was.

She wasn't able to do anything, not for Minoru, not for herself, and nothing for Izuku. Except for watching him die, and dying after him.

A great rush of wind and suddenly she was standing in the center plaza. The villain wasn't in front of her, and her friends were at her sides. Aizawa was even next to her.

The sudden change was shocking, but a wave of relief washed over her as they narrowly escaped death.

"FEAR NOT!" it was the most reassuring voice, belonging to the one person that could save them from anything, "For I am HERE!"

All Might, dressed in a suit, stood in front of them, protecting them from the villains.

"Take Aizawa back to the entrance! I'll handle these villains!"

"S-So fast …!" Minoru, despite being the most terrified, was the only one who could speak.

"Wow! So fast! So amazing! Throwing punches to "save" people? So this is our state-sponsored violence!" the head villain was laughing, even as he picked up the hand that had fallen from his face at some point.

"But … not as fast I as thought you would be! Is it true? You're getting weaker?!"

"A-All Might!" Izuku called out to the hero with a pain filled cry, "T-That brain villain … I hit him with One F- with my quirk and … and-!"

"IT'S ALRIGHT, Midoriya!" the hero gave them a salute, "GO! HELP Aizawa!"

He rushed the monster and hit it with his super strength, but as Izuku said, it did nothing.

"We should go. We're only going to get in his way." Tsuyu picked up Aizawa and set his arms around her shoulders, trying her best to prevent any more damage to come to his broken limbs.

The two followed, Minoru picking up their teacher's feet since Izuku's arms were broken.

Her childhood friend kept looking back, and after a while, he stopped.

"I-"

"Don't go."

The expression he gave her was conflicted and painful. She knew why he wanted to go.

"What do you expect to do with broken arms, Izuku? There's nothing we can do now."

A cry of pain came from where the hero was at, but she wanted him to keep looking at her. To trust in All Might.

He didn't. He rushed off recklessly and without a single thought for his own safety.

"Izuku …!"

"Hey, Midoriya?! What're you-?!"

All Might was trapped by the monster. The warper had made it so the monster could tear into All Might's back and sides, but Izuku now held the shadowy apparition's attention.

It flew towards him, preparing to attack the hapless boy.

"Get the fuck outta the way, Deku …!" a voice she didn't expect to hear rang out, followed by an explosion.

Katsuki pinned the shadow down to the ground.

"Dumb shit! I got you all figured out, and if you move, I'll fucking kill you …!"

"That's not very hero-like, Bakugou!"

"Thinking you could kill the Symbol of Peace … scum like you have some nerve!"

Ice formed around the monster's skin, cracked, and All Might slipped out of its grasp.

Katsuki, Eijirou, and the classmate she hadn't met yet, Todoroki, had arrived and saved Izuku from a stupid death.

"What the hell are they doing?! Won't they get in All Might's way?!" complaining, Minoru was struggling to hold up Aizawa, "Damn it! We need to go-!"

"Not yet." Tsuyu stared at the group and realized that the hero had been in trouble. Izuku wanted to help, but in his condition, it would be impossible to do anything.

"What?! Look at them! They're fine, so leave it to All Mig-!"

The monster pulled itself up, its body breaking off of the ice, and it stood with half of it on the ground.

"Holy-!"

Flesh weaved together from the destroyed half and formed new limbs.

"Regeneration …?"

The monster had multiple quirks. That was unbelievable, but to be that strong, it would have to be broken.

Then it punched, and the area where Katsuki was crumpled and blew backwards.

She was about to call his name, but he was next to Izuku, who was a bit far from his original position.

All Might was in his place, having taken a hit from the beast.

"That thing … is too crazy! What the hell was that?!"

"... Death."

"Jeez …! W-We almost died …!" reality was catching up to Minoru. Tsuyu could feel his shaking through Aizawa's body.

Tsuyu was going to comfort the boy, but the next thing took her breath away.

All Might got into a slugfest with the monster. Blow after blow, their fists either impacted the other or was deflected.

She couldn't even see it. This level was unthinkable, and there was no way she would ever see this kind of power again in her life.

This was All Might's power. The Symbol of Peace was not a title given out to anybody but the best.

Again and again, they hit each other, but she could see marks in the ground.

The monster was being forced back.

"It's absorption, not negation, isn't that correct?!" the hero was talking to the villain. He must have learned about the quirk from him, which would be the villain's mistake, "He must have a limit! You say this monster was built to counter me?! Made to take everything I have and kill me ... ?!"

"Then I'll just go BEYOND that! A hero … always pushes through! Always goes … BEYOND their limits!"

She could see how bloody the hero was becoming from taking the hits, but he didn't give up. It didn't matter that he had passed his quirk down to Izuku, since he had always been pushing beyond his capabilities.

"Tell me …! Have you ever known … the meaning behind …!"

All Might forced the beast back, reared back his fist, and it might have been her eyes failing on her, but light formed on his fist in the shape of a star.

"PLUS …!" he buried it in the belly of the monster, " … ULTRA …!"

With a thundering roar and a trail of dirt, the brain villain flew through the air, crashing against the ceiling of the USJ, and smashed through it, going beyond their sight.

"Now then … do you still think … you can TAKE me?" smoke billowing off of his body, All Might stood with a powerful grin as he challenged the villains.

"My god … All Might's so awesome! Why the hell did anyone think he needed help?!"

It wasn't true. He was in serious trouble, and she could see that. Tsuyu didn't know everything, but she trusted Izuku.

If he was worried, there was a reason. All Might needed help.

But her friends were starting to move away from the hero. The villains were still standing there, staring at All Might.

Everyone except her and Izuku. He was staring in fear at the hero, his broken fists slowly started to close.

The villains rushed the hero, either crazy or desperate. Possibly both.

But the hero didn't move. All Might stood there with a giant grin on his face.

She knew that grin. It looked as though he could take on the whole world.

But it really meant there was nothing else he could do. A brave face that one wears before death.

The same one Izuku had in Hell.

"GET AWAY …!" Izuku disappeared, "... From All Might …!"

Flying through the air, both of Izuku's legs and one of his arms flailed uselessly behind him, and one of his broken arms was poised for a rudimentary punch towards the villains.

A shadow formed above him, and that pale hand with blood flecks reached down towards his head.

A noise filled her ears, and it took her a moment to recognize it as a gunshot.

Backup had arrived. From where, she didn't know, but as she stared at the fallen Izuku, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw him breathing.

They had survived.

Tsuyu would hurt him so much later, but all she wanted right now, was for him to get treated. Then she could hurt him as much as his stamina would allow.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me now what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy!**

 **I said in a previous chapter that Tsuyu's tongue is in front of her teeth, as what I think a real frog's tongue is like. In the series, it's not, but I don't want Tsuyu accidentally biting her tongue off here, so it's in front. How different does she look? Not very different, since the power of fiction allows her to look the same and have the same size tongue she has in the series.**

 **I think the end's a bit weak, so I might change it.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

The night had passed by slowly, but somehow, Tsuyu was able to get some sleep. Thankfully, no nightmares plagued her and she stretched as she rose from the covers, thinking about what to do for the day.

Thursday, the day after USJ was attacked, was a free day. U.A didn't want to force their students to come back after a villain attack, and also didn't want to be criticized for doing so.

Still, she thought they would at least assign a counselor to the children. This wasn't some sort of exercise, it was a real life or death situation, but they didn't think they needed any help. She assumed that it was to get the students adjusted to the heroing business, but it was only a thought.

Untangling herself from her hair, the frog girl slowly made her way into the kitchen, where she was greeted by her parents.

And she stopped because her parents were still home.

"... Did work also have you stay at home?"

"Tsuyu ... we need to talk." her mother motioned for her to have a seat at the dining table.

Taking a seat, she was given a mug filled with milk.

"The kids are already at school, so don't worry about them." her father didn't look pleased, but it was always hard to tell with the scowl on his froggy face.

"Really? They certainly are learning fast."

"You were already doing stuff like that when you were three, Tsuyu. It's because you pamper them so much!"

"Ganma, calm down~" at her mother's touch, her father sighed and looked away, "I hardly think that's bad, and the last thing we want is to make Tsuyu think we're angry."

"Then she should know that we're upset, at the very least! This hero game is-!"

"It's not a game, father."

"Don't interrupt me!" he was more tense than usual, so she complied, taking a sip and trying to relax.

"Ganma ..." her mother's hand was still on his shoulder, and he started wincing, "Remember who deserves that kind of sentiment~! It's certainly not Tsuyu, who was attacked by villains~!"

" ... Y-Yes ..." her mother must have been using her poison, which was much more potent than her own.

"And Tsuyu, don't rile your father up like that, okay~?"

"Yes, mother."

"Good! Now that we've gotten that out of the way, is there anything you would like to talk about~?"

"No, mother, I'm fine."

"Anything at all? This is the third attack you've been a part of."

" ... I'm worried about all the attacks. It's only been a week, and yet, there have been more than there have been in the past few years."

"That's just how it is, isn't it~? The Symbol of Peace is somebody the villains would love to take down."

"Yes, but the villains that attacked yesterday were aiming for his life ... it makes me wonder if these other attacks were made by the same group-?"

"That's not for you to worry about, Tsuyu!" her father, not knowing much about the hero business, must have been distressed at being left out, "You're only fifteen! The only thing you should be worried about is school!"

"I can't control the actions of villains and I can't ignore what happened, father! They had some sort of plan, and they almost succeeded! If we had done nothing ... my friends ... and All Might might've-!"

"Now, now~" her father grasped at the hand as sweat made its way down his cheek, "It's clear that there are some issues here that need to be addressed~! First off, it's not your job, Tsuyu, but it's great to see how caring you are~ and Ganma ... calm down."

Her mother had kept a smile on her face this entire time, but it was scary and forced. The kind that Tsuyu had only seen a few times in her life.

" ... It's not easy after hearing what happened ... All Might and another one of your teachers heavily injured ... along with Izuku."

"He did that to himself." the words were halfway through her lips when he mentioned his name, "I'm going to visit him later, to make sure he doesn't try something like that again."

"If you're that worked up about it, I suppose we should only worry more for the poor boy."

"I don't understand what you're saying, father."

"Oh, Tsuyu, that's so sweet of you ..."

"It's nothing more than giving him a firm scolding. That's all there is to it."

"Be sure to pick up your brother and your sister as well. It's going to be a long day ... and an even longer one knowing you're going waste the day away with the fool."

" ... Alright." she didn't want to argue with his last statement, based on what her friend had did the day before.

"Oh, Tsuyu, honey, this also came in the mail today." she was handed an open letter from U.A, "It's about meeting with the school's psychologist. I suggest you go meet with them, since we're not around that much ..."

The inflection her mother's voice was slight, but Tsuyu didn't miss it. Looking at her parents, she could see that some stress had accumulated in their expressions, and she realized that they were holding in a lot of emotions. The attack had taken more than a little out of them, if they had postponed work to talk about it with her.

" ... I'm sorry." she couldn't think of any other words, but she could see her mother shaking her head and her father sighing.

"... That school of yours better understand that we're putting the lives of our children in their hands! Even ... even if you are capable, that doesn't make it excusable!"

"Don't mind him, honey, he's still upset because it's out of our hands."

Her father didn't retort, since the discussion was beyond the scope of a civilian. Everything about this must have rattled his nerves.

" ... and I wish that I had done more ... our children shouldn't have do deal with our messes-" her mother's tone was downcast, and her eyes furrowed sadly.

"Don't blame yourself for these ruffians, Beru! They chose this disgusting way of life on their own!"

"Please, mother, you've done more than enough. It's not cleaning up your mess, it's inheriting your drive for more peace in this world."

"Oh my, those are some flowery words there, Tsuyu~" Izuku was starting to rub off on her, since she was spouting the kind of nonsense he would, but she meant what she said. Even if it was embarrassing, but it was worth it if her mother would cheer up in the slightest.

An alarm went off, the sound of the small watch resounded through the room, a noise Tsuyu hadn't heard in a long time.

"Ah, it's time, isn't it~?"

Tsuyu watched as her mother got up, pulling a bottle out of her skirt pocket.

Her father was watching with stern, solemn eyes as his wife opened it, and a few tiny capsules fell onto her palm, quickly disappearing into her mouth.

A few seconds of silence passed as Tsuyu heard her mother audibly swallowing the pills.

"Beru, it's time to go."

"Alright~!" fluttering, her mother went and pulled her into a hug.

" ...Oh, how strong my little daughter has become ...!" her mother's arms were weakly struggling to maintain their hold on her small frame, and Tsuyu did her best to return a hug of her own.

"Go out to the car and I'll meet you there."

"... Before I ... even noticed, you've already become a fine woman, Tsuyu ..." humming her mother slipped out of her arms and left through the front door.

" ... I know you're serious about the hero business, and your mother may say it's the best thing in the world ..." her father stood up, moved to her side, and set a large, warm hand on her head, " ... but only I know how much she's missed, and how much it has hurt her. I'll tell you this, Tsuyu ... we're both very proud of who you are, and it doesn't matter what you become. We will always love you."

A choked croak worked its way through her lips.

Croaking heartily, he moved away to the door, "Heroes don't cry, Tsuyu, but that's fine. It just means you're still my little girl."

"... Take care of mother, father."

She heard the front door close, and she was left sitting at the table with some milk. It was slightly nostalgic, but she still had to prepare for the rest of her day, so she finished it off, rinsed the cup out, and walked to the bathroom.

* * *

Using the bathroom to take a shower, taking care of her other business, and getting dressed didn't take long, so she began her trek to the train station. It was still early in the morning, but she was sure that the Midoriya household was already bustling with activity.

Still, she did take a little longer in her walk. Making sure that there were still people and cars around every time she turned the corner or blinked was a little tedious, but it was best to be prepared.

Halfway across a crosswalk, her phone vibrated in her pocket, letting out little cheery croaks from the ringtone.

With a trembling hand, she reached and turned the screen on, seeing that one of her friends was calling her.

"Good morning, Ochako!" she kept walking to get out of the street.

"G-Good morning, Tsuyu!"

"How is everything?"

"It's ... fine." Ochako wasn't normally this reserved, but it was hard to tell over the sounds of traffic and pedestrians, "I-I was wondering ... if you'd like to come over today? Please?"

" ... What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing! Yeah! I-I just thought that maybe ... you know? Have some girl time?"

"That would be ... nice. I was going to go by Izuku's-"

"A-Ah ... I see, then it-"

"But I'd love to meet with you, Ochako. I wasn't going to stay for long, so I'll come over to your place right now!"

" ... Really? Is that alright ...?"

"Yes, of course it is! Where are you?"

"The dorms! I'll send you a location ping!"

"I'll be there as soon as I can! With some treats!"

"Oh ... you're the best, Tsuyu! See you in a bit!" with a ping, Tsuyu looked at her phone to see that Ochako had pinged her location to her. It took her some time, but she got to the station and gathered a few things at the station stores before sitting down to wait for the train.

* * *

"W-Welcome! It's so nice to see you!" the door to the dark room opened up, revealing a disheveled Ochako.

"Hello, Ochako, I got you rice cakes, and other things!" holding out the bag of snacks, she saw her friend stare blankly at her for a bit.

"A-Ah! Yes, thank you!" taking the gift, she shook as she stepped aside, "Please, come in! Make yourself at home, although ... the place is a bit messy ..."

Walking inside and taking off her shoes, Tsuyu didn't think the place was dirty in the slightest. In fact, you need things to collect dust for that to happen.

The small apartment didn't have room for much: a small area near the entrance for cooking, a few doors across from the kitchen, possibly the bathroom and bedroom, and the living area at the far end had a kotatsu in the center and an old tv hooked up to the wall on an end table.

"There's a few other things as well." she waited for Ochako to close the door and walk further into the living room, "Like rice balls ... and a few bentos."

"I get an allowance from my parents, Tsuyu! You don't need to go out of your way for me ..."

"You don't eat enough. Don't tell me you're on a diet." Tsuyu sat down, putting her legs under the kotatsu and enjoying the warmth.

"Eh ... it's my, um, special strategy at saving money ..."

"So, you don't want a bento?" balancing the box in one hand, Tsuyu watched for a reaction.

The voracious look in her friend's eyes was a bit intense as she focused solely on the boxed lunch.

"I wouldn't say that-! I-I mean, you did go out of your way for me ..."

"It's alright, you can have them."

"Yay! Thank you!" lacking a certain brightness, she took the bentos and set them aside before joining Tsuyu at the kotatsu.

This gave the frog girl a chance to get a good look at her friend. With red, upset eyes and dark rings below, Ochako smiled, trying to appear cheery.

"It's so good to have you here! I mean, it's so bo~ring, and I was worried about how to pass the time!" the space beneath the kotatsu wasn't too large, so their legs were brushing together, and the girl was continually rubbing her legs against Tsuyu's.

"Hm ... I was a little worried too. We're still reviewing past materials, so studying for now isn't an issue."

"Studying ... ! Um, you wouldn't happen to be ...?"

"I'll help you."

"T-That's a little too much, don't you think, Tsuyu?! I'm always relying on you!"

"That's okay. We're friends, so it's okay to rely on each other."

The tired looking girl gasped, and tiny beads of water formed in her eyes.

"Oh ... this is so nice ...! I mean, not that I like bothering you or anything, but this is really good!"

"Did you not have many friends?"

"W-Well, I had to leave my home to come here, and we don't really have the money for occasional trips ... it was a bit ... lonely ..."

The girl's legs were starting to become tangled with her own, and Tsuyu wondered if Ochako was trying to ensnare her into some sort of event.

"... Did you think of inviting anyone else?"

"A-Am I bothering you?" the girl was acting too un-Ochako for Tsuyu.

"No. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Y-Yes! Everything's great! What makes you say otherwise?"

Frowning, Tsuyu couldn't stand that fake smile, and she could feel the tremors in her legs. The frog girl untangled herself and stood up.

"W-Wait! Are you going so soon? Oh no! I forgot to serve you some drinks, b-but all I have is wa-"

"It's alright." wrapping her arms around the shaking girl, Tsuyu regretted that she hadn't noticed the situation earlier, "We've only known each other for about a week, but we've been through a lot, Ochako. We're going to be classmates for a long time, and friends for even longer, so if there's anything at all that you need ... please, let me know. You don't have to go through this alone."

"A-Ah ... I ... I ...!" a few gasps, and Ochako returned the hug, burying her head deep into Tsuyu's shoulder.

"You're such a pal, Tsuyu!" although she could have used a different word, Tsuyu was glad to have visited her friend, although she would have to tell her to be more careful with her quirk, since she was starting to float.

* * *

"Make sure you have plenty to eat today, and don't skip out! A balanced meal is good for the mind and body!"

"Yes, Tsuyu!"

"Get some sleep as well! You don't want to go into school tomorrow looking like a ghoul, do you?!"

"Aw, a ghoul?! I really look that bad?!"

"Yes."

"Alright! I won't be scared of sleeping! B-But ... if it becomes too much, do you think ... I could stay over for a while? I-I mean ... I would hate to impose and all-!"

"It's no problem. I'd be happy to let you sleep with me."

"Yay! Sleeping with Tsuyu! Sounds so fun!" the received hug was a lot more energetic than before, and it was soothing to see that her friend had regained some of her spirit.

" ... Don't say it in such a way ..."

"Bashful, Tsuyu? But you're the one who said it first ..."

Without responding, Tsuyu pulled away from the hug and turned her head away.

"... I'm off then."

"Mm! Alright! I'll do my best, Tsuyu, so you do the same!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about ... but be healthy, Ochako."

"W-Wait!"

Jumping because she was expecting to leave, Tsuyu saw Ochako fidgeting at her doorway.

"U-Um ... thinking about it a bit more ... do you think I could come with you? I ... I don't think I'm ready to be alone for a while ..."

"... Sure. Okay. Let me help you get ready."

* * *

"It's sis! And gravy!" Samidare came out of the school with Satsuki, prepared to leave on their own, but they were surprised by the two teenagers. There were many other students, but they were either leaving for home, meeting with friends, or being picked up by their guardians as well.

"G-Gravy?" Ochako seemed a little broken at the rudeness.

"Yay! Sis!" Satsuki plowed right into her stomach, causing a small amount of discomfort, "You're picking us up?"

"We're going over to Izuku's for a bit, to see how he's doing."

"Eh...?! I don't want to see any gross stuff!"

"The gross stuff is fine! You're being a baby, Samidare!"

"It's super uncool, you know?! He's supposed to be a man, but he's all fluffy and weak when it comes to sis!"

"That's because he's a big dork."

"H-Hey now ... don't you think gravy is a bit mean to call a lady?"

"Why? I like gravy." being a boy, Samidare didn't understand how rude he was being.

"Yeah, I do too! Especially when you leave it in the fridgy, and it gets all jelly!" and Satsuki was a little too young to understand proper manners.

"You two, apologize! Her name's Uraraka Ochako, and be polite!"

"I-It's okay, Tsuyu! I was a little caught off guard there, since I didn't know they gave me a nickname!"

"See? Gravy's fine!"

"Except that. Call me Ochako!"

"No way! We gotta call you a nickname!"

"Yeah! Deku's got one, and sis is Froppy!"

"I'll give you jelly if you apologize and call her Ochako."

"We're very sorry, Ochako." the two bowed to her friend, who was taken aback by the sudden shift.

"E-Eh?"

"I don't see the sincerity ...!"

"We're so very sorry, Ms. Ochako ...!" getting on their hands and knees, they lowered themselves even further.

"W-Wait! Stop! It's fine, it's fine, you can call me whatever, maybe just Ochako, but don't do something so embarrassing ...! It's like I'm harassing a bunch of little children ...!"

"No can do, Ochako. Father said I was spoiling them too much."

"Guh ... ! Daddy's a meanie!"

"So mean!"

"But ... I'll still give you jelly, since I said I would."

"Yay! Sis is the best!"

"Best sis!" the two cheered for her as they started walking away.

"... W-What just happened?! Hey, Tsuyu! Wait up!"

* * *

"W-Wow! It's so nice to see Izuku's friends coming to visit him!" the matriarch greeted them as they arrived, "Come in, come in! I've made enough food for everyone!"

"It's okay, Mrs. Midoriya, I was going to get the kids somethin-"

"No, no! I know that you were going to make something, but I made plenty! Please, have some!" it was useless to object, since she had already been told that the older woman would be making her and the others something to eat.

"Yeah, sis! Auntie Inko's great at cooking!" the boy was happily slurping up the jelly from the cup in his hands.

"She's not as good as sis, though!" the girl had already finished her share, eating it all in one bite.

"Satsuki! Mrs. Midoriya is much better than me!" it was horrifying to be compared to Izuku's mother, who's cooking was practically in a different league to her own.

"It's alright, Tsuyu! I know you're plenty capable in the kitchen yourself!" the smiling mother led the group to the dining table, where a sitting Izuku covered in bandages was already glowing red, presumably because he had heard them at the door.

"Hello, Izuku! It's so nice to see you!"

"Yeah ... nice seeing you guys ..." he didn't look too thrilled to see her, which made her a bit upset.

"Hey, Deku!" without much care, the other three took their seats at the table, getting plates from the mother and started eating.

"We're having fried rice!" seeing how the food was laid out, Tsuyu wondered why most of it was on Izuku's side.

Then she saw that his arms were wrapped in heavy bandages and hung in slings wrapped around his neck.

"But ... Izuku can't really eat on his own. I would help him myself, but ..." with a questioning glance her way, Tsuyu could only assume what she wanted.

Even Izuku was looking her way, beet red, sweat pouring down his head and soaking his arms.

"... I-"

"I-I'll do it!"

Placing her plate near Izuku, Ochako stood up, rushed over to a surprised Izuku's side, and sat down.

"It's the least I can do! Really ...!"

It was alright. Ochako could feed him, since he was incapable. She only wanted to repay Izuku's mother for the dinner, so it was understandable.

Taking a seat between her siblings, she took a plate of food from Izuku's mother, receiving a strange look, and started eating.

"Say "ah" Deku!" raising a spoon of food to his lips, Ochako asked with a smile.

"A-A-Ah?" hesitantly, he took the food in and chewed.

"It's good, isn't it?! Your mom's really good at cooking!" Ochako was about to set the spoon down until one of her hands went to her cheeks.

"O-Oh no! T-This is mine!"

The food was alright, since it was Izuku's mother's cooking. The boy was lucky to have such capable women around him, since he needed all the help he could get.

"S-Sis? Are you done eating?"

"What do you mean?" Samidare was being weird, giving her the same kind of look the mother had given her.

"You're chewing on the spoon, aren't you?"

Looking down, she had barely touched the food, and instead was chewing on the eating utensil.

"I-I guess since you've already used this spoon, please b-bear with it!"

It was going to be a long dinner.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Tsuyu ...! I was grateful, getting a home cooked meal a-and I didn't realize-!" the girl was near tears as she bowed with her hands clasped above her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ochako. What's wrong?" for some reason, the girl had called her out, put her shoes on, and took her outside, "Aren't we friends? Tell me, what's wrong?"

Her question didn't serve its purpose, as the apologetic girl rose her head, tears streaming down her face, and she started running away.

"Really, really sorry! I-I'll be going now! So sorry ...!" it wasn't too dark, and there were still a lot of people out and about, since it was a Thursday evening. She would be okay.

Tsuyu watched the girl run quickly, but was relieved when the girl still had the right state of mind to be wary of traffic laws and crossing the street safely.

Then she went inside.

"Where's Ochako?" the mother was busy entertaining the siblings by lifting them up with her quirk and other miscellaneous objects.

"She went home. I don't know why, since she was feeling pretty lonely."

"That's ... unfortunate. She's such a lively girl!" the kids were laughing excitedly as they floated in the air, slowly approaching the mother, "Izuku is in his room, if you want to go see him. He needs plenty of rest, since he wants to go to school tomorrow."

Tsuyu watched as Samidare started struggling against the pull, stating that the villainous InvisiLass wouldn't take him, but the mother claimed that she was going to steal his laughter. Her sister didn't care about the play and enjoyed floating in the air towards the older lady.

Eventually, the boy was too close and the woman grabbed him, and as he croaked, shouted and struggled, the mother only laughed at the attempts.

It was a little bittersweet, watching their interaction, but she left to go see her friend.

* * *

He was lying down on the bed, still wrapped up. It was spring weather, so it wasn't quite cold enough for him to be sleeping under the covers, and with the bandages, it would be a little too warm.

His room was the same as it was back then, minus the relationship poster board. There were a few more All Might related items, but they blended in well with the other merchandise.

"... Hey, Tsuyu." he sat up, or tried to as she walked about his room, looking in his desk cabinets.

"W-What are you doing?!" now he shot off of his bed, but due to his weakened legs, he trembled as he stared at her in shock.

"Looking for anything strange." she opened his drawers that was stocked with his underwear, and quickly rummaged through it.

"T-There's nothing anywhere! Stop looking!"

Turning to him to take a glance, she saw him sweating, red, and still wrapped up in his slings and bandages.

"Make me." she brushed past him, making sure she wasn't going to hurt him, and went to his closet.

She could hear him struggling with his encasing, but she knew he wouldn't break free as she continued her search.

"This doesn't make any ... sense!" try as he might, he couldn't get free and stopped, instead, he focused on trying to convince her.

"It's my duty as your friend to help you become a better person."

"You're just forcing your ideals on me!"

"You have to be at least as good as the image of you I have in my head."

"W-Why?! W-What does that even mean ...?!"

Tsuyu watched his reaction as she made his way throughout his room, noticing that he was trying to keep himself between her and his bed.

"... So, the stereotypical location ..."

He gave his bed a look of fear as he knew that she was onto something. As she walked towards his bed, he stood in front of her.

"Move. I'm doing this for you."

"You don't even know what it is! Stop, please!"

"If you can't even use your arms to stop me, then I don't want to hear it." it was easy pushing him to the side, since he wouldn't dare use an ounce of leg strength, knowing it would make his injury worse.

Kneeling down, her hand sunk into the space between his mattress and frame, and it quickly found something.

"Stop, Tsuyu ... please ...!" his pleas, however pitiful, did not sway her.

The object was the same shape as a notebook, and the pages felt worn and frayed in her hand.

"It's too late to do anything, Izuku. Whatever it is, judgment awaits you."

Pulling it out, she prepared herself.

"... "The Journeys of Kid All Might and Froppy" ..." it was the title labeled on the front of the notebook.

"No ... !" dropping to his knees, Izuku's head hit the floor.

Flipping through the pages and reading a bit, Tsuyu stared at it for a few seconds before she quickly placed it back where it had been.

"... I see." he remained unresponsive, "... Try changing the title a little. Maybe ... a better name would do."

It wasn't as bad as she thought, but it bothered her slightly at all the romantic cliches that he had filled the book with.

"... I was expecting pornography."

"Why did you do this ...?!" falling onto his side, he cried, tears falling from his face and staining the carpet.

"I suppose ... it counts as pornography in a different way."

"It's something I made a long time ago! I ... I just couldn't bring myself to throw it away ... especially after you left ..."

It took a few minutes, but he eventually calmed down, and as he laid still on the floor, she crawled over to him.

"... I was going to hit you for yesterday."

"... I kinda expected that when you came over."

"But I couldn't bring myself to do it. You ... you didn't have a choice, Izuku." taking his head into her lap, she let go of her grievances towards the poor boy and stroked his head.

"Thank you ... for protecting us."

"I ..." he must have realized that she wouldn't accept any rebuttals, due to how quiet he became " ... you're welcome ..."

Tsuyu stroked his wild green hair, enjoying how soft and springy it was as his head rested on her thighs.

"Sis and Deku are making babies!"

Their eyes shot to the door to see Satsuki standing there, yelling out to the other two.

"I-I-Izuku ...!"

It was going to be another long explanation, for the both of them.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **I use commas and exclamation marks a lot. The commas, I use when I think I'm using them right(probably not) and exclamation marks when I think a character is speaking in a way that shows more emotion than a period. I'm probably using them wrong too, but my point is, which I think I should have said at the beginning(lol), is that even if there are exclamation marks, it doesn't necessarily mean they're yelling.**

 **I will, once again, publicly declare and acknowledge I am bad at OCs. I'm also bad at fiction within fiction, so if you think that part sucks, just think that I was doing it intentionally. Yeah-! It was intentional!**

 **As I was reading this chapter to see what kind of monster I've created, I saw something surprising, so I thought it'd be best to elaborate a bit on it. Nothing in this chapter was made to represent how I feel about anything except how huge of a Tsuyu/Izuku shipper I am. I know, I know, it's almost completely sure that it's not canon (I'd support Izuku/Ochako/Tsuyu pairing tho), but the I believe the main reason anyone reads this fic is the pairing. It's almost like clickbait, so I hope that it's at least entertaining! Get your money's worth!(or time, whatevs). Careful, I'm also a huge fan of tragedies ...**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

Meeting Izuku at the school gate, Tsuyu and her friend had visited Recovery Girl before homeroom had started on the nurse's orders, and she had healed the boys arms and legs to working condition.

"Are your arms okay? You don't need to wear the slings anymore?" her hands ran across Izuku's smooth forearm, making sure it was still in one piece. The school's hallway was a little crowded as students rushed to get to their classes.

"No, Recovery Girl said that they're fine now."

"And your legs?"

"They're good. Thankfully, they weren't as damaged as my arms."

"That's good ...!" she sighed, relived that he was fit to move around.

"... Your hands are warm."

"Hm?" she was still holding his arm with both of her hands.

"I-I mean ... um ... sorry." he tried to pull away, but she prevented him.

"... You said they were warm, didn't you?" moving one of her hands to cradle his, Tsuyu felt a blush form on her face, "I didn't take you for a hand man. I've always considered you a leg person."

"W-What-?!"

An abrupt croak reverberated in her throat.

" ... Or is pain more of your thing?" trying to ignore what she just did, she applied a minor poison to his skin.

"Ah ...! N-No, it's not like that, Tsuyu!" he continued to deny the accusation, until they got to their classroom.

* * *

"E-Everyone! Take your seats, quickly!"

"You're the only one standing, Iida."

Rushing to his chair, the boy managed to sit down just as the door to their classroom opened. A figure, who's face and arms was covered in bandages, shuffled in.

"It's nice to see you, Mr. Aizawa! Glad to see you're looking well!"

"If ... you can call that doing well ..." Tsuyu could hear Ochako muttering about Tenya's comment.

"How I'm doing is unimportant." muffled by bandages, he was still able to speak out to them. She could see Aizawa looking out to them through his bandages, but his hair would sometimes drape over the little eye slits, "We've got a lot to talk about today, but more importantly ... your struggles have not yet ended!"

The class started chattering to their classmates, wondering what the teacher was talking about. Aizawa was bending over behind the lectern, and Tsuyu was about to ask if he was alright, until he popped back up, a squeezable package attached to his face. It fell down, and she thought she heard him curse a little, before he looked at them again.

"The U.A Sports Festival is about to begin! A villain attack won't stop us from holding the event that all of Japan has its eyes on!" his announcement drowned out their comments and some of them started cheering.

"This is your best opportunity to be noticed in the hero world, so I suggest you prepare! It's not going to be easy, after what you've been through, but I think it's because you've experienced an attack first hand, you all have three chances to succeed!"

The U.A. Sports Festival was easily the most publicized event since the Olympics fell out of favor once people started getting quirks. Tsuyu had watched it many times with her friends and family, and the three events they held practically guaranteed a high level position in the hero world.

"I understand that you're all excited, but right now, it's Hero Informatics time, so settle down and learn something!"

* * *

As soon as fourth period was over, Tsuyu used the lunch break to go visit the psychologist's office. Not that she felt that she needed it, but her parents had suggested it, and she wouldn't want to worry them anymore than she had.

The office was located on one of the upper floors, and as she made her way there, she saw that All Might and Izuku were walking into one of the rooms, but after listening to their conversation from beyond the door, it was merely a pep talk for the sports festival. Her worries alleviated, she continued down the hall, past a few rooms that looked like they were being used for storage.

The room she arrived at looked nearly abandoned, judging by the condition of the walls and floor, but opening the door revealed a pristine room. There was a small desk in the back with a computer, some bookcases that seemed bare, save a few books, and two little couches with a table in the middle.

A woman was sitting on the far couch, writing down on a clipboard, but she jumped and adjusted the small glasses she wore when Tsuyu entered.

"Ah, hello there! How may I help you?" she was small, about her height, and her black hair was cut down near her shoulders. Wearing an office uniform, she seemed like she could blend in a crowd pretty easily.

"Hello. I'm Asui Tsuyu, and I was sent a letter?"

"Yes! I knew I would eventually get to help someone!" a small smile formed on her eager face and she stood up, letting Tsuyu know that she was a few centimeters taller than her, "I mean ... you poor kids! You were attacked by a buncha mean people! T-That is, if you're from Class 1-A!"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, then! Take a seat, please! B-But not here, across from me!"

"Is there any reason?" the frog girl didn't understand why she was against her sitting next to her, but she assumed there was some sort of reason behind it.

"I-I'm just a little nervous around new people!" it wasn't a very good one, but she complied regardless.

"I never caught your name, Ms ...?"

"I'm Ana, Ts- may I call you Tsuyu?"

"Yes, you may. Your family name wouldn't happen to be Lyze, would it?"

Staring straight at her with sweat dripping from her head, the woman kept her smile up.

"Um ... I got my name changed a while back, since I felt like it would help with my work ..."

"I ... see."

"B-But you're not here to learn about me!" taking a stack of her papers out of her clipboard and setting them on the table, her pen scribbled a little on a fresh sheet, "Now, since the attack, has there been any issues at all? Eating? Sleeping?"

"None. I think I got out of that situation pretty well."

"I-I think I heard something about you, Tsuyu, reading about the incident report we all got here at U.A.! You were pretty close to the mastermind behind this event, weren't you?!"

"I wouldn't say close. I don't know if he was the one behind all of it, but he certainly seemed to be giving orders to some of the villains. He was close enough to almost use his quirk on me."

"R-Really?! That sounds pretty bad, so scary!" despite her exclamations, she was smiling excitedly as she wrote, "Disintegration would've been crippling! That would be bad! So, you don't have any trauma of sorts?"

" ... No. I'm alright. At the time, I was prett- are you okay? You're breathing a little too fast ..."

"Ah ... yes, forgive me!" taking in a few deep breaths, she calmed herself, "It's so exciting being able to talk to a student! I've been here for a while, and didn't really have the chance to talk to anyone!"

"That's rather odd."

"I know! I suppose, you kids think that heroes need to be tough and unwavering, but sometimes people need help with their issues! It's okay to rely on others for things like this!"

"I know a few people like that. They worry me too much sometimes-"

"What are their names?"

"Oh ... I've made a few friends, but two of them I've known since I was four. Midoriya Izuku's one of them, and he's the one that worries me the most."

"The one who had both his legs and arms broken? I can see why you would worry!"

"One of his arms was broken by a villain, but the others were done by him and his recklessness, although ... if he hadn't done it, I guess I would be in worse condition."

"You know ... I just noticed that your expressions are rather hard to read ..."

"It's my quirk, Frog Form. People have trouble, but some get used to it."

"Now, it may have been my imagination, but I believe that I saw some guilt in your eyes when you mentioned him breaking his limbs ..."

" ... I suppose, if I was stronger or had a different quirk, he wouldn't have to go through that pain, but there's nothing I can do and what's done is done."

"Hm ..." writing some more hidden words on her clipboard, the woman smiled a bit, "What about the others?"

"There's Bakugou Katsuki and Uraraka Ochako. Katsuki is the other one I've known since I was younger and he's fine, but I think that his anger issues will one day get him in trouble-"

"That Bakugou, he's the one from the clay man incident a while back?"

"I'm surprised you know of that."

"Well, All Might had just arrived ... and I always scan the papers for potential materi- subjects that could use a good talking to!"

"I don't think that's the right word to use, Ana."

"I take it, he is the same person!" ignoring the comment, the lady continued, "He's a bomb, that one, but everyone can turn their lives around if they try!"

"He's acts the way he does on purpose, but he's behaved since he got admitted to U.A."

"And what about Uraraka?"

"She's ... troubled by what happened two days ago, but for some reason, she didn't receive a notice?"

"She might have, but from the report, Uraraka was in a relatively safe area compared to the other students! The villain had left them alone after ... Iida, was it? Well, after Iida was able to escape to gather reinforcements."

"I see ... so that's how all those heroes arrived ..."

"Yes, and most of the students weren't in life threatening situations, like you, Midoriya, and ... Mime-?"

"Mineta."

"Ah, thank you! You three were in the most danger, according to the report from All Might, so that might be why you were recommended to visit me! It also notes that you seemed ... distant?"

"I may have been, but I can't really remember how I was feeling during that time. I was acting mostly on instinct and reason, so perhaps I was."

"Some people are like that, they close off any unnecessary emotion to do what needs to be done ... even if that sort of objectivity clouds their decisions."

"...Ana-?"

"So, how are things at home?" Ana unnerved her a bit, but it was unfair to judge someone solely on one comment.

"Everything's fine. Same as always."

"What about your parents? How have they been and how did they react to the villain attack?"

"I didn't really believe the rumors that psychologists eventually get you talking about your parents, but ..."

"It gives me a good idea of your living conditions, so please don't take it the wrong way!"

" ... They're fine. They're the ones that recommended I go see you."

"Then I thank them from the bottom of my heart!" giggling, Ana wrote something else down, "Were they particularly worried about you? Afraid that you may not want to be a hero anymore?"

"No, I don't think they mind if I want to be a hero or not, but they were worried. My father's a businessman and my mother's ... his assistant."

"Assistant? What does she do?"

"Well ... she helps him manage the accounts and she has a few contacts and friends that help my father out."

"I take it, she's an influential figure in your life?"

"... She used to be a hero."

"Ah, so was she your motivation?! Is that why you want to be a hero?!"

"I don't see what this has to do with the villain attack and my mental status." the conversation was starting to bother her. Ana was nice, but this wasn't stuff that strangers needed to know.

"S-Sorry, please, just a few more questions and I'll let you go!" the woman looked ready to jump across the small gap and hold her down.

"I thought I came here for help, not to take a survey."

"S-Sorry ... it's ... been a while since I was able to talk to anyone ..."

"Do you not talk to your coworkers?"

"Oh, you know ... I'm not a hero myself. I'm ... sort of a freelance psychologist ..."

"I've never heard of a freelance psychologist before."

"I get that a lot ..."

"And I don't see how someone who's not a hero can help heroes get past their problems-"

"W-Well ... I thought that ... since heroes do so much for us ... it's the least I could do ..."

Looking at the woman pressing her palms together, wincing with her face to the side, made Tsuyu let out a guilty sigh.

"... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack you like that-"

"No, no! It's okay! I don't really mind ..." her attitude turning completely around, the woman bounced in her seat, "I understand! I thought, "Well, maybe a different perspective is what the heroes need!", so I trained myself up, and now I assist you future heroes with your problems ... except you're the first one I've talked to ...!"

Seeing tears forming in Ana's eyes, Tsuyu wondered how such a person was appointed this position.

* * *

"Now, stop by my office if you ever feel like you need to talk something out of your system! I'll always be here ... waiting to assist!"

Tsuyu had spoken to the small woman until ten minutes before lunch was over, and she didn't feel any different. Either the woman wasn't able to do her job, or perhaps Tsuyu had cut herself away from Ana, but the frog girl didn't know if she should come back or not. There were no forms filled out, which she thought was strange, but the psychologist may have done it in an informal way to make her feel more relaxed.

Ana had made her feel uncomfortable. Perhaps her treatment was working, but Tsuyu felt a little cold in that room, and a little part of her wished to never go back, but she also felt sorry for Ana.

It was difficult deciding about going back, so Tsuyu ignored it for now and went back to the classroom.

* * *

"Hey, hey, sis! I wanna go watch a movie!"

"Yeah! There's a movie!"

Her siblings bounced around as she held their hands. They were making their way back home and they decided to spring this on her when they got to the train station.

"Don't you have homework you need to do?"

"It's the first week, sis! There's no homework since it's mostly orie-orien-orientalization?"

"Orientation. Five years ago, I would have been busy with homework ... What movie did you want to watch?" if they had no work, then she didn't think it would hurt to indulge them before they were overloaded with it.

"There's this one movie, um, what was it, Satsuki?"

"It was "Sky Breaker"!"

"Yeah, that one!"

Taking her phone out, she looked up the details of the movie. It didn't get bad ratings, but it looked like a movie that hero fanatics and kids would love. The most unfortunate part was that it was almost three hours long.

"... Why do you want to watch it?"

"I dunno, Satsuki's the one who wanted to watch it."

"Because one of my friends said their daddy help make it, so I wanna watch it!" her bouncing was starting to become too rambunctious, so she let her hand go and used her arm to hold the girl close.

"Hm ... should I invite Izuku? Seems like this thing's right up his alley ..." she was also a little tired, so she might need some help getting through a movie like this.

"Yeah! Invite him!"

"I don't know ... we've got to prepare for the sports festival that's coming up in a few weeks-"

"Just do it, sis! He'll love this movie!" they croaked at the same time, almost as though it was practiced.

" ... What's your friend's name, Satsuki?"

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Um ... Massuhoku?"

Browsing the page for the movie, she didn't see anyone with that name.

"You two aren't lying to me, are you?"

"N-No!"

"And you two don't have any homework?"

"No!" they both cried out, but Samidare was a little slow in replying.

"Let me see your backpack!" without waiting for the boy, she grabbed it and started to open it.

"H-Hey! Quit it-!" he started to flail about, his tongue and arms trying to grab at her, but they weren't strong enough to prevent her search.

"No ...! Sis, I wanna watch a movie!" near tears, Satsuki was pulling at Tsuyu's skirt.

Opening his notebook, all she saw were doodles, and looking through a few handouts, she saw that he had to get his parent's signatures.

"Why didn't you get father and mother to sign this yesterday?"

"I just got it today, sis!" he stopped, realizing his struggle was pointless, "and ... I wanted you to sign it, sis-"

"I can't sign it, ask our parents."

"Movie ...!" with tiny little droplets falling from her eyes, Satsuki was croaking loudly.

"Quiet, Satsuki!"

"A-Alright, but can we still watch a movie? I mean, it's not going to be playing for much longer!"

The boy was right. This was about the fifth week since it first started showing, and even then there was only one theater that was still playing it.

That theater happened to be near Izuku's place, and not only that, there was only one available time at 7:30 PM.

"... Fine!" finally relenting, Tsuyu sighed as she started texting her friend, "We'll go pick up Izuku on the way and we'll see the movie ...!"

"Yes!" Samidare pumped his fist in the air, as though he won at something.

"Movie ...!" becoming even louder, her little sister cried more.

"Satsuki ...! I already said we're going to go watch it!" exasperated, Tsuyu pulled her phone out, preparing for the conversation that she didn't want to have with their parents.

* * *

"W-Wow ...! I heard some great things about this movie, but I didn't really have the time to watch it! Thanks for inviting me!"

"Yeah, well, thank the kids, Izuku."

"Thanks, you two!"

"No problem, Deku!" they were holding his hands now, and they were swinging their arms wildly, but the boy was too soft and let them do it. They looked a little drowsy, so she worried that they wouldn't get enough sleep, but tomorrow was the weekend, so they were going to sleep in anyway.

The theater itself didn't look too terrible, rather it was a nicer looking theater. It must have plenty of customers, since it was the only one in the area.

Nobody was waiting in line, which was a relief for Tsuyu.

"Welcome! What movie would you like to see?" the lady in the booth asked as they approached.

"Two high school students and two children for "Sky Breaker"." Izuku started sputtering, but she ignored him.

"May I see your student IDs?"

"Izuku, give me your ID-" Samidare made the mistake of slamming his hand into the booth wall, hurting both him and the older boy.

"Ow ...!" she could see her brother was starting to cry, and Izuku was rummaging through his pockets.

"There, there, Samidare ... you should have known better." she took his hand and looked at it, seeing only a tiny bruise forming.

"H-Here's my ID." Izuku showed his to the ticket seller. Samidare was giving her a little look.

"S-Shut up! It doesn't hurt that much!"

"Really? Why are you crying?"

"I-I'm not!"

"Tsuyu ..."

"Here." she handed her ID to Izuku, "Now what are we never doing again?"

" ... Swing our arms stupidly, but it's not like I was doing it in the-!"

"Sis, I want popcorn." her sister was tugging at her skirt, and for a brief moment, she saw the ticket seller hand Izuku a sheet of paper.

"Izuku, wait for a lit-"

"Popcorn, sis!"

"Wait a second, Satsuki! Sis wants to choose the seats!"

"But I want popcorn!"

"You don't need it!"

"What does that mean?!"

"Stop it!" she pinched both of their cheeks, "You want to watch the movie? Then stop fighting and behave yourselves!" reaching the end of her tether, she wished her siblings would act more appropriately.

"Hey, Tsuyu? I already paid for the tickets, so we can go get som-"

"You did what ...?!"

Her sharp tone made him flinch, but it was his fault for doing something unnecessary. The boy took the kids' hands and rushed inside.

She was about to charge after them, but she stopped herself. Taking a few seconds to calm down, she followed after them. The lobby wasn't too grand, and she could see her group buying a small bag of popcorn.

When she approached, they looked a little terrified, but she didn't say anything.

"... It's men's day, today. My ticket was half off, s-so I thought that-"

"I'll pay you back, later."

"There's no-"

"Who said you had a choice?" she grabbed her siblings' hands, and they didn't dare mess around, "What's the seating arrangement?"

"... Samidare, me, you, and Satsuki."

"... That's alright." his choice wasn't terrible, and she might have chosen the same arrangement, but she wanted her siblings on both sides of her, to prevent them from doing anything bad.

* * *

The movie room was practically empty, save for an older man accompanied by a small girl. They sat in the seats Izuku claimed were theirs and waited for the movie to begin.

"These seats are kind of small ..."

"Yeah, but they're alright ..."

" ... Our seats are a couple's seat, Izuku." lacking an arm rest between them, their shoulders were touching.

"I-I didn't know that ..." judging by the way he was lying, she understood why he paid for the movie.

"You liar~" pressing her hand down on his, he started to squirm.

"N-No, really! I didn't know!"

Satsuki was munching a bit too loudly on her popcorn, but the previews had not even begun, so Tsuyu didn't mind.

"Really? Then I suppose you wouldn't mind if I got comfortable ...?" wrapping her arm around his waist, she grabbed his hand and put it on her thigh, keeping it there with her other hand.

"T-Tsuyu ..." his will weakening, she knew Izuku's resistance was gradually decreasing.

"It's chilly." she only had her skirt and short sleeves on, and the theater had its air conditioner on.

"W-What about-?"

"They're wearing more clothing than you think." a quiet, slow croak came from her throat as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder, enjoying the warmth he was giving off from her actions.

"Can you guys not? Please? It's gross."

"Quiet, Samidare."

* * *

"To break past all limits, I will defeat you, vi-blargh!" the hero, Sky, was defeated in a very simple way by the mooks.

So far, Tsuyu had thought little of the movie. Sky only had the power to break things, which included most things he touched. Most of his sky-blue and white outfit was destroyed before he even fought, and his condition was the worst for fighting.

Currently, the villain, Holo-Horror, was robbing people of their possessions by hollowing out their wallets and other valuables inside a bank. His goons had taken down Sky before he had even entered the building.

"Get a load of this guy! What's he saying about-?!" a crash demolished the mooks in one go, and as the dust cleared, a small woman with greatly exaggerated proportions stepped towards the fallen hero.

"Sky, what have I told you about getting in the way?!" although small, she was capable of picking up the rather tall Sky.

"B-But InnerTia!" so that was her name, "I'm a hero too! I'll back-!"

"You're not a hero! You're in the way!" the rude lady walked into the bank, leaving Sky behind on the pavement, that had cracks forming underneath him.

Tsuyu had a few problems and her sister shared the same sentiment as they stared blankly at the screen. The other two boys seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"InnerTia? That might imply she has some sort of inertia controlling quirk, possibly removing or applying a force in a particular direction, and that might explain why her body seems so gravity defy-"

"Stop muttering, Izuku." tapping him lightly with her tongue, he quieted down.

* * *

"You've done well, my young pupil!" an older man, who was heavily injured and broken, was surrounded by destruction. What used to be a beautiful hillside river was now a desolate wasteland. Parts of the landscape was cut into, and some of it was scooped out, while the rest was nothing but broken rubble.

"Master Dice ... why did you do this to me ... ?!" Sky, no longer wearing the tacky sky-blue and white hero outfit, was now wearing an outfit that resembled a large skeleton with cracks and fractures all over it.

After failing to capture the villain, Holo-Horror, his license had been revoked and he resorted to vigilantism. The older man that was near death was Dice, a former villain who's quirk cut up everything he touched. The two had fought over some minor issue and Dice ended up teaching Sky on how to control and strengthen his quirk.

Of course, there was already a system in place to help people control their quirks if they needed the help. Tsuyu also knew that one way to become a hero, one needed to obtain a provisional license, work as a sidekick for some time, and then they could patrol as a hero, but this was a kid's movie.

Although, looking at her friend to her side that was trying to hold back some serious waterworks, one would think otherwise.

"You and I ... are alike!" Dice was standing up, but his body was twisted and warped from the fight, "We both know what it's like ... not being able to do even the simplest thing! Everyone takes something like holding ... a child ... or even sleeping soundly in an intact home ... for granted!"

It was cringe worthy, but a child might understand this, to some extent.

"Th-These guys ...!" a choking croak came from her side. Why Samidare and Izuku loved this so much was beyond her comprehension.

Nuzzling into his neck, Tsuyu was simply astounded that Izuku didn't so much as flinch from her. In fact, he pulled her closer and rested his chin on her head.

Her tongue shot out, sliding underneath Izuku's chin and smacking her brother in the face. They both reacted in surprise and she slightly pulled away from her friend.

"Be quieter, you two." retracting her tongue, she pretended to watch the movie.

"I ... I wasn't making any noise ..."

* * *

"What do you want ... failure? Come to me for some ... hollowing?" the white figure with holes for a mouth and eyes asked an approaching skeletal figure as he stood before a kneeling InnerTia.

"G-Get back, Sky! You can't take him on!" it was rather graphic, seeing the bleeding holes that littered her body, which made her question if this was a kid's movie. Her costume was also practically gone, which brought up even more questions about the movie's rating.

"I'm not Sky ... not anymore!" Holo-Horror raced towards the vigilante, his hands forming into scoops, "I'm ... !"

"The Breaker ... !" cracks formed in the air around his fists as he cocked one back.

"Take my Hollowing ... !"

"Aether Breaker!"

Before the villain could even reach him, the air around him as well as the buildings were surrounded by cracks, and Tsuyu could tell that they were all broken by the attack.

The villain fell, his limbs noodle-like and the buildings collapsed.

"What kind of message is this movie trying to make?"

"W-Well ..." Izuku wasn't able to answer her question. On the screen, Sky and InnerTia were having a moment, "... I don't know. I guess it's just trying to appeal to younger boys ..."

"Ew ...! This stuff's gross!" Samidare was cringing at the attempt at bittersweet romance on the screen.

Satsuki remained quiet, as she had for the entire movie so far. To Tsuyu's surprise, her eyes were glued to the screen.

"... You were saying?"

"... I don't know."

* * *

"No! The sky's falling!" Sky's suit was supposed to represent how much of his body had broken from use of his power, and right now, most of it was fractured, "Damn it ... ! If only it would stop for a second!"

There was some sort of major villain, who's name she thought was Null, had created a device that would crush the city the movie was set in. It was large, and since it was shaped to reflect its surroundings, it literally looked like the sky was falling.

Sky's quirk, the Breaker, worked best the longer he had contact with object. His "Aether Breaker" could extend his power for some distance, but for something this large, he would need direct contact.

"Let me handle this!" InnerTia, as Tsuyu expected, used her quirk to stop the device before it hit the ground. The buildings around them had been destroyed, but the civilians had all been evacuated to an underground shelter.

Why there were only two heroes to stop this was also confusing. Something of this size would devastate not only the city, but the neighboring lands as well. There should have been more people to help stop it.

Their perspective was switched so it mostly showed Sky, but there was a silhouette of InnerTia off to the side. Loud cracking and squishing noises could be heard as her body began to break down.

"Inn-!"

"D-Don't look at me ...!" she roared out, her voice composed of a mixture of pain and effort, "Handle your end, Sky! I-I'll hold it up, for you!"

"I thought this was a kid's movie?"

"S-So did I!"

The noises grew more gruesome as the two characters screamed, doing their best to prevent the device from completing its mission.

Cracks started splintering the surface of the machine, looking as though the sky was actually breaking apart, before it all came crashing down. The large pieces of debris fell as Sky did his best to cover a bloody InnerTia.

After the pieces had all fallen, a fog was covering the entire area, and a few moments of ringing filled the theater until Sky emerged from the rubble, his friend in his arms. His skeletal outfit indicating that most of his bones were broken.

"F-Fool ... I thought I told you to not look ..." nothing more than a red mess, Tsuyu thought she should have died by now.

"Why ... ?! Why do you all keep ... doing this to me?!" despite holding her in his arms, she wasn't breaking, "I don't want to lose anyone else ...!"

"It's too late for me, Sky ..." it should have already been too late, but she was still talking, "Go ...! End this, once and for all!"

"I'll ... be back for you, okay, InnerTia ...?" she didn't respond, and Tsuyu thought she heard her sister whimper as he set her down on a somewhat flat piece of debris.

The broken man limped across the field of devastation, finding what appeared to be an escape pod. A door on it popped off, and a little man crawled out.

"You ...! You're the one that stopped my plan!" rushing toward sky, he had a fist reared back.

"No! Watch out, Sky!" the two boys next to her exclaimed.

A limp punch landed on Sky's stomach, but instead of him falling down, the villain sunk down to his knees.

"You bastards ...! You and your quirks ...!"

" ... What?" Tsuyu was just as surprised as Sky, "What are you talking about ...?"

"You monsters! Demons!" the short man was hysterical as he tried to stand, but he was too unsteady and kept falling over, "You even managed to stop something like this?! Are you even human?!"

"You're ... quirkless?"

Tsuyu had tolerated the movie up to his point, but it was suffocating her with its nonsense.

"Someone has to stop you! Before you kill us all!"

"Are you full of shit ...?!" knocking the man down, Sky towered above him, "You did this! You killed my friends! You ... ! You killed her ...!"

His costume's arm indicated that he was using his quirk, but it showed that it was starting to powder his bones.

"You freaks change the way the world works! You don't belong here-!"

With a panicked cry, Sky brought his arm down and Null was turned into a red puddle. His arm limply hanging at his side, he stared down at it with shaking eyes, before turning his head up and screamed as the fog covered the screen.

When the movie suddenly ended there, she wanted her three hours back.

* * *

"S-Sis ...? Is Sky going to be okay?" walking out of the room, her brother asked her worriedly as she held his hand.

"No, he's not."

"T-Tsuyu!"

"Excuse me! The couple, over there!" the old man who had watched the movie with a girl was calling out to them as he sat at a table, "Could I bother you for a moment?"

"What about?" By this point, Tsuyu was somewhat exhausted as they walked over to him. Judging by how Izuku wasn't getting worked up about the comment meant he must have been tired as well.

"The movie! I'd like to hear what you thought about it!" the girl sat at his side, writing something down on a notepad.

"It was super great!" Izuku and her brother rushed over to him, "I mean, just everything was amazing!"

"Hahaha ... ! Is that so?! Thank you very much for the kind words!"

"I thought ..." Satsuki spoke up from her side, "I liked the difficulty InnerTia had in explaining her feelings to Sky, but I think that it wouldn't have been a problem if they had spoken to each other about how they felt earlier, like before Sky lost his hero license. They would have been happier, and maybe Sky wouldn't have had so many issues accepting how she acted towards him, and she would calm down."

Tsuyu stared at her sister, a small, bitter feeling of betrayal welling up in her heart.

"Hm ... that's a pretty interesting-!"

"Hey, isn't that Satsuki?!" the girl spoke up, staring excitedly at the little froggy girl.

"Ah, Raita!" waving, her sister smiled at the girl, "She's the friend I was talking about earlier!"

"So, you worked on this movie?"

"Hm ... yes! I suppose you could say that ..."

"Worked on it! Don't you know who my grandpa is?!"

"Now, now, Raita! It's alright! So, what did you think of the movie?"

Looking at the expectant eyes of her friends, family, and the two strangers, Tsuyu pursed her lips.

" ... It could have been better."

"Really?! How so?!" she could see a gleam in his eyes, and realized he wouldn't let her go so easily.

"Why ... did you demonize quirkless people?"

"W-Wait, Tsuyu-"

"Did I? Don't you think that Null had a good point when he said that people with quirks are dangerous?"

"Then would you be implying that most of us are dangerous, and that even children deserve to die?"

"Hey!" Raita spoke up, "Why are you picking on my grandfather! Just because yo-!"

"Raita ..." she nervously looked over at the old man, who's demeanor had become menacing, "Everybody should be allowed a voice ... don't take that away from anyone!"

"Y-Yes ..." sulking, she slouched over in her seat.

"... You're on the right track with what I wanted to go with there." he returned to Tsuyu, a smile once again on his face, "They both had conflicting views, and they both chose the worst possible solutions."

"I also don't understand how this movie got the rating it did."

"That surprised me as well! I kept telling everyone that the rating should be raised, but I was ignored, and the reason was that kids nowadays would have already been exposed to this sort of thing! How crazy is that?! Back in my day, this film wouldn't have even been greenlit! Every part of this movie would have been too extreme!"

" ... I suppose another thing I had an issue with was the name."

"The name?"

"Sky Breaker. Was it given that name because the movie was about breaking Sky, the character, and the actual sky?"

"Ah ... that's because of my own quirk. You see, me and Raita share the same quirk!" the little girl didn't want to look at Tsuyu, "We have prophetic dreams!"

"W-What?!" Izuku was starting to get more excited, "Prophetic dreams? Telling the future?! That's an incredible quirk!"

"T-Thanks, kid!" the man was surprised by the outburst.

"T-Thank you ..." Tsuyu didn't like the way the little girl was staring at her friend.

"That doesn't really explain ..."

"Ah, it's one of the prophecies I dreamt up! It doesn't always come true, and obviously, this is a heavily edited version of it, but this movie was based off of one. As ... you can probably tell, it sounds like we're making it up!"

"That's not true! There are ways to tell if someone has a quirk or not, so you-!"

"Now we do, kid, but back in my day, quirks were new and mysterious!" the man glowered a little, before returning to his smile, "I was raised in a family that hated quirks. My father, and my father's father were ... they didn't like people with quirks, and now that most people have one, it seems pretty petty to me! A bit silly that it was such a thing, but at the same time, I can see why they hated quirks so much."

"Quirks are nothing more than a part of our bodies. They don't go beyond anything such as changing the world."

"... There's this one hero I've been watching for a while now. You might know him as ... Thirteen."

"Y-Yeah! The Space Hero, Thirteen! We've met him, and he's super nice!"

"Yeah, an incredible guy! Specializing in rescue, he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet! I like those kind of heroes! But his quirk can be used to destroy everything, you know? Black Hole ...? Does that sound like something that should exist?" his entire demeanor changed once again, "Do you know of any heroes with unbelievable abilities? Something that could change the world? Something that can completely devastate life if it wanted to?"

A few people popped into Tsuyu's head, and their abilities were far beyond anyone's understanding.

"... Ah, sorry!" his happy look came back, "I ... have some things back from my childhood! Hahaha ... I guess ... years of that kind of hate is hard to get rid of."

"Grandpa ... ! Y-You're the nicest grandpa ever!" the girl next to him gave him a hug.

"Heh ... you're such a good kid, Raita." patting her head, he returned to Tsuyu's group, "Well, I've taken up too much of your time! Thank you, all of you, for your words!" he bowed slightly, "I hope that your wonderful family has a great night!" he was looking at her when he said that.

"Wonderful family?"

"Am I mistaken? I thought that you were all ..." he motioned to her, her siblings, and Izuku.

At once, Izuku's head burst into steam and he started muttering nonsensically. Satsuki was pouting a little, and Samidare had a sad look on his face.

"No, these are my siblings. The muttering mess next to me is a friend of mine."

"A-Ah! Forgive me then!" he bowed in apology, "Hey, kid," he started speaking to the boy,"if I might speak plainly ... but back in my day, when a boy takes a girl to the movie ..."

"We'll be leaving now." taking Satsuki's and Samidare's hands, she started to walk away. Her tongue wrapped around Izuku's head and pulled him along.

"Goodbye then! Have a good night ...!" chuckling the old man waved.

"And remember the name Sakumotsu Chokusetsu!" Raita shouted at them as they left.

* * *

"I ... I had fun! Thanks, you guys!" Izuku was unlocking the door to his apartment.

"Izuku? Is that you-?" looking past her son from farther into the apartment, Izuku's mother silenced herself when she saw Tsuyu with him.

"Yeah, thanks for coming, Deku!" her siblings cried out from next to her.

"I'm ... I'm sorry you didn't-"

"The movie wasn't good, but ..." Tsuyu found it difficult to find the words to say ," ... it's not like I didn't enjoy myself ..."

"I-Is that so ...?"

A loud beating sound was distracting her as she stood there. Izuku was staring back at her, and she wondered why they weren't saying anything.

That man's words were getting to her. There was no reason to say anything like that. It's not like he knew what their relationship was, or if they even liked each other. It was confusing why he had said such a thing.

"Jeez ... you two are so annoying!" something shoved her forward, and Izuku, in reflex, caught her.

The beating became louder, and as the boy caught her, she could hear it even more from him. It was his heart, and it was working loudly in his chest.

A familiar beat was also coming from her.

Her body was already heated up from whatever was affecting her, and with his addition warmth, her head was beginning to spin.

Grabbing his head, her lips pressed softly on his cheek.

"Repayment. For movie tickets." she pulled away and picked her siblings up with her tongue, "Bye."

Jumping over the railing, she didn't bother to turn to see what his reaction was. It scared her.

* * *

When she got down onto the ground, she leapt a few more blocks towards the river, before she set her two passengers down. She sat down, pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her chin on top of them.

"Hey, Sis! What gives?!" she didn't know if they had been complaining the entire time.

"I'm hungry, Sis ..." they hadn't had dinner yet. They needed to eat, but she felt heavy and weak.

" ... Wait, are you okay?"

"Give me a second." she blanked out her mind and sorted her thoughts.

"... First, I'll get you two some dinner. Yes, that's what we'll do."

"Don't you need to eat, Sis?"

"If I eat anything, I'm afraid I'll throw up."

* * *

They went to one of the fast food places on the way to the train station, O'Macs, and she bought them something to eat, and after some pleading and begging from the worried kids, she got something for herself as well. Sitting down at one of the tables, the three siblings ate their meals.

The sandwich she ordered was juicy, and the meat was marbled with fat. She especially liked the cheese, since its consistency was something of a malleable jelly. The best part of the meal is that it stayed down in her stomach.

Her phone told her it was 11:45 PM, which sent a nervous jolt through her. The train would take some time, and they would be home around 12:15 AM.

It also told her that she had four missed calls.

Tsuyu had forgotten that she had silenced its ringer before the movie began, and she knew what awaited her at home. It wasn't as though she wasn't prepared for it, but she didn't expect to be out so late.

Samidare and Satsuki drowsily sat in their seat, and Tsuyu knew they were at their limit. She threw away the trash and picked her siblings up, put them on her back, and made sure they stayed there by using her tongue to bind them to her.

Tsuyu carried the two out of the restaurant and made her way to the train station. The two children on her back clung to her for warmth as the night chilled their bodies. Her tongue was also starting to feel a little numb, due to the cold, but she wasn't endowed with the mass and strength to carry them with her arms alone, so she endured it.

A few passerby's smiled sympathetically at her, probably having the wrong idea about them in their heads.

* * *

Arriving at the train station a few minutes after midnight, she missed the last train.

Tired, she sat down on one of the benches and sighed heavily.

She wouldn't go back to Izuku's apartment. There was no way she could do that. It would kill her to go back.

They had to get home somehow, and trembling, she held her phone in her hands.

"Hey, aren't you ...? Yeah, you're Asui Tsuyu, aren't you?"

Hearing her name, she heard a rather boisterous woman approaching.

"Hello, Mount Lady."

" What the hell?! Ah-! Sorry!" she quieted down when she got closer, "I don't want to wake your kids-"

"They're my siblings."

"Oh ... god! I thought-! Wow ... imagine having kids and going to hero school!" the hero appeared tired, and looking closer, her suit had some marks on it, "What are you doing here so late? The train's have all stopped."

"Yeah ... I missed the last one."

"Well ... I mean, do you need a ride?"

"What about your patrol?"

"Don't you worry about that! I'm a hero, for goodness' sake! Do you need a ride, or do you think you'll be able to make it home on your own?"

She didn't want to trouble the hero, but more than anything else, she didn't want her siblings to not be at home in their beds.

" ... If I may trouble you ..."

"Alright, hold on for one second!" she pulled a phone out of one of the many hidden pockets in her suit and turned away, calling someone.

"Yeah, hey! I've got a situation over here and- no! I didn't break anything! There's this kid, and- no! I didn't hurt them! Who do you take me-?!" she became silent and slumped over a bit, "No, I'm sorry. I spoke too rashly. Don't kill yourself. There's this kid here that needs to get home and I was wondering if another hero could take on my patrol- We don't have anyone available? W-Well, what about other hero agencies? K-Kamui?! Does that guy ever sleep?! Why's he always both available and around?! Ugh ... yeah. Yeah, okay. Thanks, bye."

Satsuki was nuzzling her neck when Mount Lady faced her again.

"Good news! I can take you home!" an obviously fake smile was plastered on her face as she announced the news.

"You don't have to if-"

"Stop! I'm doing this because I want to, so don't you get all indebted to me, okay? I'm a hero, it's what I do!"

"... I was going to say if you were going to carry us on your back."

"... No, I'll drive you."

* * *

The drive was short, but it would have taken Tsuyu at least another hour or more, so she greatly appreciated the help. She helped her sleepy siblings crawl out of the car, which looked old and beat up.

It must be because she needed something cheap and disposable, in case of emergencies.

"You've saved me, Mount Lady. Thank you!"

"Ah ... no problem." she seemed dazed, as though the hero had never heard those words before, as she helped right a wobbling Satsuki, "Yeah, well, if you ever need any help, you know you can count on me!"

Hearing a car in front of their home, Tsuyu could see her parents coming out.

"Tsuyu ...!" her father was quickly approaching her.

"Thanks again, Moun-" she was cut off as her father's hand hit her face, sending her sprawling to the ground. For a civilian, he was quite strong.

"Sis-!"

"Get in the house!" pointing a shaking finger towards their home, he ordered Samidare and Satsuki to go inside.

"Hey! What the he-?!"

"Thanks, Mount Lady." interrupting the hero before anything happened, Tsuyu picked herself up, "I wouldn't get far in the hero career if I couldn't take a hit-"

"Do you think this is funny, Tsuyu?!"

"Leave Sis alone!"

"Stop it!"

"Answer me ... !" shouting, the patriarch ignored the protests of his other two children as their mother took them inside.

"... No, father."

"There's no need fo-!"

"Please, Mount Lady." Tsuyu didn't want her here. This wasn't something she could change, and Tsuyu herself knew that this was the expected outcome of coming home at such a time, "Thank you for the help! You've really saved me!"

She hoped the hero would take the hint. Her job was done, over, and she was needed elsewhere.

Mount Lady had a blank expression as she looked at the two, before staring harshly at her father.

"... Are you proud of yourself?"

"Do I look like I enjoy this ...?!" unlike Tsuyu, he was capable of glaring at others, and his look was always fearsome to the frog girl.

Mount Lady glared back, before she got back in her car, taking a few moments to sit there before she drove off.

"Come on!" grabbing her arm, her father pulled her into the house.

* * *

"Why are you so late?! You were to be home as soon as the movie was over!" she was sitting in their dining room, with her being on one side in a chair and them on the other side, her father being the only one seated.

"We walked Izuku home, and we got something to eat on the way back."

"Walking to that movie theater, to his house, and to the station doesn't make you one or two hours late! Even if you got something to eat, do you really think it takes that long?!" another smack across the cheek stung only a little bit, and the pain was negligible.

"Stop it! She didn't do anything wrong!"

"She just took us to a movie!" the two were crying, and Samidare was violently struggling against his mother's grip, "Mom! Stop him!"

Her mother didn't say anything, but it was apparent that she wouldn't be able to hold him back for much longer.

"Your mother and I were extremely worried, did you know that?! You say you'll be back at a certain time, you lie to us, and then you don't return our calls?! We thought something happened to you!"

"I lost track of time."

"W-We fell asleep!" Satsuki shouldn't be talking, "It's our fault! Don't hit her, please!"

"L-Let go of me!" ripping himself free, their mother let out a tiny cry of pain.

A cracking sound filled the room and the boy fell to the floor.

"Don't you ever ... do that again, Samidare!"

"S-Sis ..." her tongue slowly slipped back into her mouth as a red mark formed on his face.

"... Things are getting out of hand here." her father sighed, calming down after seeing what he had indirectly caused. Tsuyu had spared her brother a harsher blow from their father, but she had to hurt herself to do so, "Tsuyu ... I know the week has been hard on you, but that doesn't excuse thoughtlessness! We expect so much more from you ...!"

"... Yes, father."

"Now ... I think you've learned your lesson. The both of you." he was referring to the teary eyed boy that was laying on the ground.

"It's our fault ...!" Satsuki was still crying in her mother's arms, "We were late cause we made Sis kiss Izuku!"

She felt the room freeze.

"W-What ... ?" her father, the one who never stumbled unless it was his wife, stuttered about something that concerned her.

"It was nothing."

"Oh ... Tsuyu! Congratulations!" laughing, her mother gave her a hug with Sastuki., "I knew you'd be able to do it one day!"

"You ... kissed the boy? ... Him?" stunned, her father slumped backwards in his chair, unable to take the news.

"It was only on the cheek. That's all it was."

"I ... I'm going to have to talk to the boy, tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"We were thinking about canceling the get together tomorrow ..." Tsuyu remembered they wanted her to invite some of her friends over, "... but it's better for us to meet your friends to see if there's anyone that might be a negative influence on you."

"... As you wish, father."

"Now go to bed. I'm sure there's a lot for you three to reflect on."

* * *

After brushing her teeth and tongue, Tsuyu wanted to tuck her siblings in after what they had seen. They both had their own room, so she wanted to visit Samidare first, to see if he was alright.

"Are you awake?" knocking lightly on the door, she opened it to see a darkened room, adorned with things a boy of his age would have.

He didn't reply, but she could hear a few hiccuping croaks from the bed, so she moved to the side and put a hand on the quivering pile of blankets.

"... You don't have to show your face. Izuku might cry a lot in public, but I know that most boys don't want others to see their tears."

"I-I'm not crying!" his voice had a slight crack in it, and a few more croaks came from him.

"Father might seem cold, but he was only worried-"

"H-He hit you!"

"And it hurt him to do it." she sat down on his bed.

"That doesn't m-make it right! And mom ... she didn't do anything!" his little eyes peaked out from the covers, and she could see a few tears drip down onto his sheets.

"Don't be harsh to mother, Samidare. What you did earlier was horrible. You should apologize, as soon as you see her."

"Yeah, whenever that will be!"

"Shush, you know they work very hard for our sake."

"... Why isn't she like a mom, Sis?"

"Samidare!" she was a bit louder than she wanted to be, but it couldn't be helped.

"Whenever I think of who my mom is ... I keep thinking of you, Sis." from the slightly closed door, she saw a shadow pass by the crack near the floor.

Silenced, she sat there staring at him, unsure of what to even say.

"... Get some sleep, Samidare. You've had a long day, so please, don't hate father and mother for what happened."

"Okay ..." pulling the covers slightly off of him, she gave him a hug, and left the room.

* * *

"Satsuki?" knocking on her door, she opened it. Her sister's room was much cleaner, but it had things a normal six year old girl would have, but with less dolls and more books.

"Sis? I'm awake." she was staring up at the ceiling while laying down on her bed, the blankets underneath her.

"Aren't you cold?" Satsuki had a chair next to her bed, which Tsuyu sat in.

"Not really. Heating's on." the girl wriggled around on the bed, to get into a position where she was facing Tsuyu.

"... About earlier-"

"How do you feel about it?"

Looking into Satsuki's questioning eyes, she could tell that Satsuki would be heavily influenced by what she said next.

"... Father is in the right. I forgot to turn my phone back on, and I didn't give him a call. I didn't get back in time, and I've worried our parents greatly."

"So ... if he's in the right, and I'm in the wrong, I'll get hit?"

"... That's why you have an older sister to learn what not to do, Satsuki." she stroked her sister's hair, which was normally in pigtails but was loose and resembled Tsuyu's and her mothers, "That way, you won't have to worry about that sort of thing."

"I ... I don't want you to get hurt, Sis ..."

"It's alright. Your sister's pretty tough. After all, I'm going to be a hero."

"... Can you read me a story, Sis? I can't sleep very well."

"Yes, I would be happy to! Which one would you like to hear?"

"The one in the notebook!" dread filled her heart, "The blue one!"

She didn't know of a blue notebook with a story in it, but with a hesitant heart, she searched for it in a nearby bookcase.

The Peril of All Boy and Froppy.

"... Where did you get this?"

"I found it at Deku's place! I really liked it ... so-"

"You shouldn't take things that belong to others, Satsuki! That's stealing!"

"B-But it didn't look like he was reading it anymore!" she was slowly pulling herself into a ball, "I really liked the story too ... I-I'll return it next time, bu-"

"No ...!" panic and fear briefly consumed her before she forcefully dragged herself out of it, "... I'll forgive you this one time, but don't do it again! And more importantly ... never let Izuku know you have this."

"W-Why?"

"It'll break him."

* * *

Reading the story was incredibly difficult for Tsuyu, but somehow, she managed to get past the first two chapters. Written with the imagination only a child could have, it was also filled with plenty of embarrassing thoughts and feelings she couldn't recognize at this point in time.

Satsuki, with a satisfied smile on her froggy face, slept peacefully. Tsuyu allowed herself a smile of her own, seeing her sister so pleased with Izuku's shameful writing.

Closing the door soundlessly, she made her way back to her room, and saw her mother standing in front of it.

"Mother?"

"Ah, Tsuyu! I wanted to wish you a good night~!" closing the distance, her mother embraced her.

"... You listened in when I was talking with them, didn't you?"

Her embrace got a little tighter, but her mother released her, a somber look in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't think I should see them ... not after the display your father set up."

"Mother, you don't have to worry about something like that. They would love to-"

"Please." ruffling her hair a bit, her mother smiled, "Why would they need me for that? They've got you, my lovely daughter~"

"Mother-!"

"Don't feel bad about it! I think, it's best you're there for them~! A child should be raised with love and care ... something that you've been giving them since they were born."

"Saying it like that, you're making it sound like I'm the only one who's raised them ..."

"... Tsuyu, sometimes, I can't believe how blessed we are to have you. Despite ... how little you had, you've grown to be such a beautiful person-"

"Stop it!" she couldn't take that self-deprecation from her own mother anymore, "You've given me plenty, haven't you?! I know you're trying your best because you love us!"

"And if you weren't here, I fear what would happen to your brother and sister." it seemed she wasn't listening, already so sure of how everything was, "I'm sorry, Tsuyu, for what happened earlier. I have to go and make sure your father isn't beating himself up too much for what he did. That man ... I sometimes wonder if he's a masochist, you know~?"

"They love you, mother." without even hearing her out, her mother walked away to her room, "They're too young to know what you're going through, and what you've done for them ... so don't leave ..." gradually, her voice grew too quiet to be heard as she spoke to the darkness.

Tsuyu stood in front of her door for a bit, before she entered her room and prepared for the next day.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy!**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

A light rapping on the front door roused Tsuyu from her sleep. With half lidded eyes, she checked her phone to see a few messages sent at five minutes past 5 AM had been sent to her, and the time was 5:30 AM.

The sender was Izuku, and the messages told her that he would be coming over early. It didn't help that she had to scroll through a wall of text to find that out. Tsuyu sent her usual curt reply, given that she was tired and there wasn't much to be said.

With soft steps on the cold, wooden floor, she made her way to the door and opened it. A breeze quickly flew in, chilling her to the bone as she saw Izuku standing on the porch.

"H-Hey, Tsuyu-" he stopped as he must have noticed how her pajamas were slipping down her shoulder. He was holding his arms across his chest, dressed in his school uniform.

"... You're early." a yawn started forming, but she quickly quashed it.

"Y-Yeah, sorry about that. I hope my uniform's alright, since they're the nicest clothes I have ..."

Another breeze wafted in and her pajamas weren't enough protection.

"... Yeah ..." if she had appropriate clothing, it would be tolerable. Torpor was gradually taking hold of her.

"G-Great! U-Um … who else is-" she grabbed onto him, opening his blazer and burying herself inside it.

"Hold me."

Speechless and quivering, he slowly wrapped his arms around he, becoming her personal human furnace.

"A bunch of our friends … Ochako for sure. Mina, maybe? A few others, and definitely not Mineta."

"A-Ah ..." despite the cold, she could already feel and smell him sweating.

"Come in. I don't want to stand out here in the cold for too long."

* * *

"Do you want something to drink? Want some breakfast?"

"Um … no. I'm alright." stunned, he followed her inside, slipping his shoes off in a daze.

"We got home a little later than planned, so everyone will probably sleep in. I'll make you some later, okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

"For now, let's go to my room." his eyes turned bloodshot as they nearly shot out of his head, "I don't want to bother the others this early in the morning."

"Huh?" she took his hand and tried to lead him, but his feet felt as though they were made of lead.

"Come on! Do you really want to be the one to wake my father up at this time?"

It got him moving. They quickly made their way to her room and she silently shut the door.

"What possessed you to come here so early?" she sat on her bed while he took a seat in the chair for her desk.

"Nerves." he sat their stiffly, staring at his hands as they gripped his knees tightly, "Couldn't really sleep."

"Are you tired? You can rest in my bed if you want."

"N-No … that's fine."

"It's no trouble at all. It's even got a heated blanket." leaning back, she pat the covers next to her, "Pretty comfy, Izuku."

"I …- no! Stop teasing me!" pouting ever so slightly, he was only inviting more of what he wanted to stop.

"You sure? I'll share it with you ..." she leaned forward, letting him have a tiny look at her cleavage, "It'll be nice, warm, and probably pleasant ..."

His face was already a dark red, which pleased the frog girl, but she didn't expect him slowly getting up and sitting next to her on the bed.

"What are you-?" he rested on his hands on her shoulder, bringing her into a one-armed hug.

"Y-You're cold, aren't you? You never say how uncomfortable you are until you s-start doing something embarrassing."

"... I'm not uncomfortable anymore."

Leaning into the boy, Tsuyu felt herself drifting off, but a slight snoring startled her.

The boy had fallen asleep, so she picked him up, and surprised at how heavy he was, settled him under the covers of her bed.

* * *

Tsuyu had taken more time in messing with the boy than she had thought. Preparing breakfast wasn't too difficult, but she knew that Izuku preferred fish over egg, so she had to make a little extra for everyone.

Rice, miso soup, fish, and soft boiled eggs. Heavy in protein, which she was sure her siblings and Izuku would enjoy, but her parents might be somewhat dissatisfied.

She could hear someone knocking on a door, but it was on the first floor, and not the front door.

"Tsuyu? I'm coming in." she froze when her father entered her room.

It was too late. Peering inside, Tsuyu could see that the noticeable bulge in her blankets indicated that someone was lying there, so she couldn't merely reveal herself. Her father was standing in the middle of the room, and his back was to her.

"I … understand if you're upset." he wasn't close enough to see that Izuku's green hair wasn't hers, "Thinking back on it … you didn't lie to me. You must have known how I would act, so I'm sorry if I scared you. It's just that … to me, you're still that little girl, not even a year old, and walking and babbling. I mean, you tripped on your tongue a few times, but you would just get right back up ..." he had a fond look on his face as he turned about the room, saying those embarrassing things.

Wishing desperately that her friend wouldn't wake up, Tsuyu could do nothing but watch as he moved to the side, looking at the walls of her room.

"... When I was your age, I was much more outgoing. My father and mother, may their souls rest in peace, were more active in my life than I have been in yours. I had plenty of friends and was happy due to their teachings …"

"But … when I look around, I don't see pictures of your friends, well, except for that little runt ..." he scowled lightly at a picture of her and Izuku, aged five years old. The pictures she had of Habuko were stored in her phone, "... I think, that might because of everything we've burdened you with."

"Where we failed, you took on our responsibilities. When we were needed the most, you were there to help out with the kids … it might not seem much to you, but I'm … grateful, Tsuyu!" Izuku rolled over, covering his head with the blanket. Whether it was because he was awake and knew how much shit he was in, or he was still blissfully asleep, Tsuyu didn't know.

"You know Beru's … condition has forced her to stay under supervision, for many years now, but that doesn't mean I don't regret … what we've done to you."

She wanted him to stop talking and leave the room. He didn't need to tell her this, since nothing was their fault to begin with.

"Beru told me about the conversation you two had last night, and … the kids need a parental figure, Tsuyu. Someone who can be there for them. Someone who can teach them what they need to know to survive on their own." he sat down on the bed, putting a hand on who he thought was his daughter, "... I can't speak for your mother, but … I'm a pretty shitty pare-"

"Stop it! Stop talking as though I'm stupid, father! I … I hurt you, so you hurt me, and we're even now, aren't we?!" it was too much, and she couldn't leave her father to convince himself through his nonsense, "So what if you've been gone?! So what if you think that I've suffered?! I haven't! I love my siblings, I love being with them, and I love you, father ...!"

Panting, due to her myriad of emotions, she surprised her father by revealing herself.

"Tsuyu ...- wait! Who the hell is this then?!"

She stared blankly as he ripped the blankets off of her bed, and revealed a very sweaty Izuku. Strangely, the scent of smoke reached her nose before she realized that the fish was burning.

"... U-Uh … hi, Mr. Asui-" a large hand grabbed his face.

"Father, he arrived a little early! I can show you the tex-!"

"The table. Now!"

* * *

The older man held her phone in his hands as he looked over the messages. Tsuyu had quickly turned the burners off and moved the food aside before she sat down next to her friend at the dining table. Her father sat across from them.

"... Shit, boy, you type too much." Izuku flinched at being criticized about the amount he texted.

"I'm looking through your message history, Tsuyu. You made that breakfast for everyone, yes? Might as well serve some out for us."

"Yes, father." she didn't mind him looking through the messages, since she wasn't the type of person to do anything out of line.

She set down several plates for them and brought the food to the table. Seeing that her father was busy going through her phone, and Izuku was too nervous to move, she gave them a few things and had some herself.

"Boy, my little girl just gave you something to eat and you're going to sit there, dead as the fish in front of you?"

"T-T-T-Thank you, Tsuyu..." he bowed to her, and started to eat, even though his sweat was dripping on the food.

"Calm down, Izuku." getting up and getting a few napkins, she returned to her seat and wiped his head with one.

She heard her father growling, and he was distracted by her actions for a moment, until he returned to the phone.

"Is it good?"

"Y-Yes … I really like the fish, t-thanks again, for the meal!"

Her father's long tongue shot out, take a bit of the fish and pulled it in his mouth. Unlike hers, his tongue was behind his teeth, so something like that was easy for him.

"... What are you talking about? It tastes burnt."

"R-Really, it's pretty good-"

"Lying like a rat won't earn you any favors, boy!"

"I-I'm not-!"

Taking a bite, the taste of charred fish filled her mouth and she knew that Izuku was being nice.

"It's burnt, Izuku, but I appreciate it." smiling, she put him down so he wouldn't hurt himself anymore.

"... I still like it ..." trying to prove his point, he continued to eat it.

"Other than the fool over there, there's not many messages to go through. Mongoose needs to watch her mouth and Uraraka needs to stop using emoticons like she does." he was about to put her phone on the table, but he held it out to hand it to her, which she accepted, "You also have trouble with that as well. Be sure to fix that."

"Yes, and I'll let them know, father."

"No need. I already did." he picked up his chopsticks and ate some boiled eggs.

Looking at her phone with a little shame, she put it to the side and continued eating.

* * *

The rest of her family came down, and were surprised to see Izuku with them, but shrugging it off a little too easily, they ate the breakfast Tsuyu had prepared.

Samidare had quite the despondent attitude, but he kept it to himself. Satsuki, on the other hand, was busily eating entire boiled eggs.

With their frog quirk, there was never anything they couldn't swallow down, something Tsuyu thought of as a blessing when she saw her little sister shoveling food into her mouth.

"Manners, Satsuki."

"It's so good though!" her voice was muffled by food.

"That doesn't excuse you from eating properly." she tapped the girl with her tongue, and Satsuki started to eat normally.

"Samidare … don't you have something to say to mother?"

Frowning, her brother got out of his chair and slowly made his way to their mother. Izuku was looking at her in confusion, wondering what she was asking of him.

"I … I'm sorry for hitting you, mom." he gave her a small hug, and Tsuyu thought she saw her mother shaking.

"Oh … my dear boy! It's okay~! Mommy forgives you~!" giving him a hug, she pulled him in closer to cuddle her son.

Tsuyu could see Izuku giving her a questioning look, and she glanced at his plate.

"Clean your plate, Izuku."

"E-Eh … it's plenty clean-"

"You didn't eat all of your fishy, Deku!" Satsuki helpfully pointed out as everyone started paying attention to him. His face was turning red as Samidare returned to his seat.

"What, you don't eat all of your fish, Midoriya?"

"W-Well … mom usually cleans out the guts ..."

"We don't, so buckle up, boy, and eat it. I thought you said it was good?"

"Oh … it's okay, isn't it~? Izuku's still a kid, after all~"

Hearing her mother say that, Tsuyu knew that it damaged what little pride her friend had.

"Here." she picked up the remains of the fish with her chopsticks, "Open up, Izuku. It'll only take a second and we'll all be very proud of you."

"I-I'm not a child ..." pouting, he then took a look at her hand and the blood rushed to his face, "T-Those are-!"

"Say ah~!" she drawled out the word, opening her mouth slightly as she brought her chopsticks to him. With his widened eyes, she knew where he was staring as she shoved it into his mouth.

A low rumbling noise was coming from her father as he growled, and she could hear her mother letting off quiet warbles.

"Stop being gross already ..." Samidare didn't like seeing the action either, but he wasn't showing any anger at them.

"See? Tastes alright, doesn't it, Izuku?"

"... Y-Yeah ..."

* * *

After sending her friends a few texts, she was able to get some of them to come over. Habuko, unfortunately, had plans with other friends so she wouldn't be able to arrive, so it was just the U.A. kids.

She studied with Izuku on the sofa, after she had cleaned the plates off the table. Her parents would appreciate both actions. They had gone out, due to work related reasons, but they would be back before noon.

"Sis?! We're going to go play outside!"

"Going to the playground!"

"... Watch over your sister, okay, Samidare?" looking back from her notebook to see them already putting their shoes on, it was too late to stop them.

"Yeah! I will!" the two ran outside, croaking rhythmically as the door shut behind them.

Looking at the time, it wasn't even 10 AM. It felt like her day was flying by, but it had barely begun. She had yet to change out of her pajamas, due to the events before breakfast.

"H-Hey … we're not alone in the house, are we?"

"... We are." she continued to study the lecture notes she had taken, barely noticing that Izuku was shaking.

"Is there something wrong?"

"W-W-We're alone ..."

"I'll only punish you if you've done something punishable, Izuku."

"A-Ah, um, that's not what I was thinking … I wanted to ask about earlier."

"My parents were upset about me being late last night, but everything's alright." she could see him wincing a little.

"Your father did seem awfully apologetic … I mean, did something else happen?"

"... They're both thinking too much, as are you, Izuku." she tapped him with her tongue, "Let's focus on our studies, okay?"

"S-Sorry … there's a lot on my mind. There's the villains, school ..." she wondered why he started burning up, " Y-You kissing me ..."

Silently, she closed her notebook and stared at him. Fidgeting in his seat, Izuku was staring back in fear and embarrassment.

"... You're making me feel awkward."

"S-Sorry ..."

"That deserves punishment."

"W-Wait?! What-?!" he flinched, seeing her move towards him, and he tried to get up off of the sofa. As he ran away from her towards the front door, she pounced on him before he could get very far and they both fell to the floor.

He grunted when he hit the wooden floor, but something of that level wouldn't harm the boy too much.

"You know what happens when you try to run!"

"N-No! Wait! Hold on, Tsuyu! I was ju-!"

Tsuyu pressed herself against his back. Knowing he could feel her body through the thin fabric, she heard his words degenerated into a stuttering mess.

"No excuses either! This punishment is for your own good, and I'll think of adding more if you struggle or make any noise, okay?"

He quieted down as much as he could, although he was still radiating heat comparable to a metaphorical human sun. She hooked her legs under his waist and wrapped her arms over his shoulders. Using her tongue, she tickled his ear and neck as she licked him.

She pressed her lips hard against the helix of his ear, continuing to lick it, and he stifled the noises that were coming from his mouth. She would tolerate some noise, but if he started moaning or groaning, she would think of more things to do to him.

Tsuyu had to crawl up his body, since she was too short to reach his face in her previous position, and she started licking his cheek. She had misjudged how far she should have moved, and her lips accidentally pressed against his cheek.

The suction noise as her lips separated from his skin was too loud. Silently, she removed herself from the boy and huddled in a ball a few steps away.

"... T-Tsuyu?" getting up on his elbows, he looked at her with confusion evident in his expression.

She stared back, hiding her mouth with her knees. Her heart was hammering away in her chest and his voice was almost drowned out by the noise it made.

"Hey, are you okay?" moving to her side, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

A little warble burst from her throat.

"Yes." she hoped her face was hidden by her legs, "Sorry."

"Sorry for what?" his worry was wasted on her, since it was only an accident. She continued to stare at him, not because she was refusing to say anything, but she didn't know what words to use in this situation.

His face formed a grimace, and for a second, she thought he was disgusted with her.

Then, with visible effort, he pulled her into a hug. And then she felt something press against her head.

Only just managing to transform that strange noise in her throat into a soft sigh, Tsuyu gripped his shoulders and nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

"... Does this still count as a punishment?"

"... Yes. You're being punished." she blew onto his skin, feeling him shiver.

"I think … I've learned my lesson-"

"No you haven't." it came out a little quicker than she would have liked.

"Honestly, Tsuyu, your punishments don't actually help me become less awkward."

The frog girl put one of her hands behind the boy's head and twirled her fingers through his hair. He was practically glowing red from embarrassment, but he wasn't panicking, which made her feel lost. The boy was growing used to her punishments.

"Okay then." she tried to move away, but the boy didn't release her, "You can let go now."

"I … don't want to." his embrace grew tighter.

"Izuku …" a small warning didn't make him release her.

"Tsuyu … your teasing, your "punishments" … I … I'm sorry." she felt something touch the back of her head, and she knew it was his hand, "I'm a fool, and I'm taking it all the wrong way, I'm assuming too much, I'm-" sighing, he interrupted himself and she stared into resolute eyes, "Tsuyu … I think I-"

Putting a finger to his mouth quieted words she didn't think should have been said. Even with her mind screaming for one thing, she was able to avoid something incredibly dangerous.

"Don't say you're just a fool, Izuku." she was grateful she was able to find some words, "You're my foo- od."

"T-Tsuyu?!"

She couldn't look at him. That was impossible. He was trying to make her look, but she couldn't. Being physically incapable of looking at him, she wanted to get away from him. It didn't help that he was still holding onto her.

"Let me go."

"W-Wait, don't move so-!"

"I said to let me go, Izuku … !" he was being obstinate, but the boy didn't realize that. She only wanted to find or dig a dark hole to hide in so he couldn't find her.

"Ow! Hey, Tsuyu-!" grabbing her arms, he pinned her to the ground.

Turning her head to the side and closing her eyes was the only thing she could do as she lay beneath him. The thought of kicking him was discarded once she realized she had made the mistake of letting him between her legs.

"Pervert." cursing her own ineptitude, her body became limp, relying on one last trump card to get away.

"I'm trying to stop you from hurting yourself! With all that flailing you did, I'm surprised I got off with only a few hits!"

Wishing that time would suddenly rewind itself, or that this was all some sort of nightmare, she gave up on trying to escape and tried to seem as helpless as possible as the boy hovered above her.

Then the door opened. Her eyes shot to the entrance as her parents walked in. She managed to get a peak at her friend's face and saw small purple marks slowly forming on his skin.

"... I thought you said you were coming bac-"

"You better have a good explanation or I'm going to kill him."

* * *

"Get the hell out of my house, you bastard …!" Izuku barely scampered out of the front door as her father threw his cup at the boy. It shattered as it hit the walkway outside.

Tsuyu couldn't look at her father, but she could hear him hissing in pain.

"Ganma, they've done nothing wrong."

"That cretin's trying to corrup-!"

"You're being unreasonable. Sit down."

"Beru-!"

"Sit down!" a loud thump signified her father sitting down.

"Tsuyu, look at me, please~?"

Her hands tightly gripped her knees as she concentrated on how brown the table was.

"Tsuyu." a command this time instead of a question, "Look at me."

Peering up, she saw her mother giving her a light smile.

"Could you please elaborate on Izuku's explanation? It's awfully hard understanding muttering, but you seem somewhat fluent, and you were with him the entire~ time. Could you also please explain where your siblings are~?"

"Samidare and Satsuki are at the playground ... and I …" she really wished this was a nightmare, "... sometimes punish Izuku."

"Punish?! What does that mean-?!" speaking up beside her mother, her father was about to get up until a hand slapped down on his shoulder, soaking it in a purple liquid.

"Who said you were part of this conversation?" with a smile, she forced her father to start foaming at the mouth as he was subjected to her poison. He slumped over in his chair as his eyes rolled back into his head from the pain.

"But, he has a point." Tsuyu didn't know what her mother considered unreasonable, "What does punishment entail~?"

"I … um … sexually harass him-"

Her father started convulsing, falling off of the chair and flailing around on the floor.

"So, you're the instigator?" without paying any mind to her father, her mother gave her a questioning look.

"... yes."

"... Don't be so tense, Tsuyu, your lip is bleeding." now that she mentioned it, Tsuyu could taste some blood, but she thought that was from stress, "I don't think I have to tell you how bad that sounds. Is it as you say, you're sexually harassing your friend?"

"... yes."

"Then why was he pinning you to the ground?"

"... He was trying to get me to stop."

"... Tsuyu, that's a crime."

"I meant … he was trying to stop me from running away."

"Why were you trying to run?"

"I … was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

She couldn't do it. She looked away only briefly, but she felt a stabbing pain in her shoulder.

"Tsuyu … it's okay to be afraid, but why were you afraid? Of being found out? Please, Tsuyu … look at me."

Her mother had a small frown adorned on her long face. Tsuyu didn't understand why, but her eyes felt wet.

"I-I ..." a tiny croak was creeping into her voice, "I just ... I w-was getting scared that ... I m-might ... be going too far, and ... I don't want him to h-hate me ..."

"I … I see." it was too quiet. Her father had stopped moving about, and Tsuyu couldn't look at her mother, she couldn't, "That's … I'm … so sorry, Tsuyu … I ...-"

A crash came from outside, startling the occupants of the house. Something burst through the front door.

"H-Hey!" it was Izuku, but he was panicked and sweating, more than he had been when he left, "Get down! Something's coming!"

"W-What's-?" shocked, only her mother could ask a brief question before the boy picked the table up and set it between the door and her family.

Then a violent explosion sent her tumbling to the ground, marking the beginning of her terrible day.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **I want to start off with a small note, and please excuse my french: I fucking hate this chapter.**

 **Thinking of what to do, I hated it. Deciding on the flow, I hated it. Writing it, oh dear god, I hated it. Someone once said that I was trying too hard, and yeah, maybe I tried too hard here. You might be thinking, "Wow, I hope he doesn't have a stroke or something", and if you're not, you might have been thinking that if you had seen me writing this. Gritting my teeth, looking as though I would start convulsions of my own, nearly screaming at the monitor because of all the scenarios I did or could have done while writing this.**

 **If you hate this chapter, that's fine. If you want to let me know of all the things you hate about it, leave a review or PM, and I'd probably share the same kind of hate. Note, that if you're a dirty Tsuyu/Izuku fanatic like I am (I am tolerant of other pairings, such as Izuku/Mina, but it might take a long time for me to read though a fic like that, due to bleeding eyes) you'll hate this chapter.**

 **Well, there's also the standard errors such as grammar, weird flow, or other stuff. I try to work on that, but I need more ski11z.**

 **11/26/16 : Edited it a bit to make it more horrible. Well, the flow might be fixed a little, but jesus ...**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

"M... M..s ... Miss!"

Opening her eyes, Tsuyu was greeted by blinding light, pain, and a stranger holding her down. Thrashing a bit, she was able to throw the person off of her, but several others came to prevent her escape.

"Calm down! It's okay, we're trying to help you!"

Her vision was starting to focus as her eyes got used to the light, and she started examining where she was. There were many other people around her, laying down on padding. Some were wounded, and others had cloth draped around them, people crying and shouting in terrified pain. They were in some sort of enclosed building, with some signs from the local school and a counter that had the shutters closed to the side.

"... Where?!" looking down at herself, she could see bandages and a splint on her leg.

"We're disaster relief for the area. There's ... an emergency." one of the aides, a man, told her as he backed off with his colleagues, "Villains are attacking all around, and you were hurt."

"My ... family ... where are they?" her head hurt horribly, as though words were driving daggers into her brain.

"Your family dropped you off, but before we could detain them, they went out to go look for your siblings."

As the explosion ripped through the house, the ceiling had come down as she tried to help her parents. A large piece of debris had fallen down on her.

Her leg throbbed with pain, and she remembered how it had bent when the ceiling landed on it, but she must have been hit in the head shortly after, since she had no memory of anything else.

"Get some rest. You've got a concussion and a broken leg." the aide left her to attend to some of the other, more serious patients after seeing that she was no longer in any serious danger.

Laying back down on the pad, she put her hand to her hand and felt a large, wet bandage. It must have been the reason why she had been left behind.

Her siblings were playing at the playground, and seeing that she was in a school gymnasium that had been near her house, she thought carefully about what to do next. Her injuries prevented any serious movement, and she would be an easy target for any of the villains prowling about.

As she was at the moment, she would only be in the way. The heroes should be able to save her family and stop the villains, given time. She only had to wait for them to do it while they were dealing with the villains.

Breathing deeply and preparing herself, Tsuyu looked at the medics going around, and when they had turned their heads away, she wobbled onto her one good leg, and jumped to the exit. A few of them had seen her, and although they rushed to prevent her from leaving, she was already jumping out of the door and past the surprised guards.

* * *

Gasping in pain, she fell to the ground and tried to gain regain some strength in her leg. The other one was still in a splint and made it hard to jump. Plus, it was very painful to keep it up for too long, and this was already her third break.

This was too reckless, especially for an injured teenager such as her. She would only be in the way, and she was endangering her own life at the moment, but she couldn't turn back.

From the sound of things, her father and mother were alright and Izuku was with them, but Samidare and Satsuki were by themselves. Tsuyu had allowed them to leave, so she wanted to make sure they were alright. But she had been down for an undetermined amount of time, which meant she would have to work a lot harder in order to keep her family safe.

Luckily, she hadn't come across anyone. There were no villains stalking the areas she had been through, but there weren't any civilians as well. The city wasn't too damaged, to her surprise, but it was almost dead silent.

"Hey, girl?" and as she realized how wrong she was, she turned her head to see a foreign man in a white jacket staring down at her, "You don't look so good. Why the hell are you crawling around with a broken leg?" Tsuyu wondered how he had sneaked up on her, but it must have been because she was distracted by the pain.

"... It's ..." she hissed and tried to get into a better position in case he was an enemy, " ... my family ..."

"Ah, you're looking for your family! Well, I think I can help you! I'm ... something of a doctor."

He bent down, and she tried to move away. It was too late, and when his hand touched her leg, black veins formed on his hand, and spread to her. She noted she was still wearing whatever remained of her pajamas, but the thought was quickly smothered by the awful and intense feeling that suddenly appeared.

She blacked out for a few seconds, huddling in a ball and clutching at the painful appendage. It was very vague, but there was also a similar feeling already erupting in her head, and moaning, she felt the man's hand on her scalp.

"There, there ... it'll all be over soon ..."

Tsuyu couldn't believe the man would do something so sinister to her. This level of torment was beyond any she had felt from her broken leg, and now the same pain was shooting through her head. It was an awful mixture of something sewing through her flesh and burning, but luckily it didn't last much longer.

"Ha ... ha ... you didn't say it would be painful ..." if he had wanted to do something, aside from this torture, he probably would have done so already. He blankly looked down at her, and rose a hand to his chin, scratching it.

"... If I told you it was painful, you might've not wanted to do it. Besides, I didn't say I was a doctor." he stood up, offering her a hand, "Your leg should be fine."

Looking down at it, she could see that the splint had broken off of her leg and it looked alright. Taking his hand, she stood up on unsteady legs and found that it had recovered.

"Do you have a healing quirk?"

"No, something else. I'll help you look for your family if you want. Those creatures are around here somewhere, so-"

"Creatures?"

"... You don't know?" after confirming from her expression that she didn't know, he sighed, "Well, there's ... I think, villain attacks all over the place. The worst ones are in Tokyo, but this area was hit as well. All Might's over there, so they should be fine, but there's only one guy going around here with these little pets of his causing mayhem."

"... I see. I appreciate it, but you should head over to the safety shelter."

"Where are you going?" she made sure she was capable of traveling, and finding that she was, Tsuyu didn't want to bother the man anymore than she had.

"The playground. My siblings told me that they would be heading there, so I want to find them as fast as possible."

"Well, you kinda owe me for the leg and nasty concussion you had." he pointed to her head, which she had noticed had cleared up a lot since he did whatever it was he did, but there was a low buzzing that replaced the pain.

"So, I guess you can repay me by allowing me to come with, alright? I can fix up wounds and stuff. I mean, what if your family is injured?"

"... Alright. My name's Asui Tsuyu." she held out a hand. He was ready to shake hands, but at the mention of her name, he hesitated, but only for a second.

"Gene. Just Gene." he smiled as he shook hands.

* * *

"... Are you sure they were supposed to be here?"

"They said the playground ..."

Said playground looked as though it was gouged out of the Earth. The various play structures were mangled beyond recognition by something that couldn't be normal or sane.

"We ~ll ... maybe they got away? I don't see any bod-"

"Yes, they did." curtly, Tsuyu already started looking for any traces of her siblings or her family, "They're not so foolish to stay around when the panic started."

"You didn't have to interrupt me, you know? Gotta look at everything objectively here." she saw him pouting as she searched, "... Listen, things might seem a little grim, but there's always some sort of silver lining. Also, you've got to slow down there a little."

"While you're talking about things that don't need to be said, I'm trying to find my brother and sister. I would appreciate it if you'll help me."

"What would we be looking for? Do they have some sort of way to let you know that they're alright, fine, safe from all harm-?"

"No, we don't."

"Then let's think of where they would go!" he put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down, "How old are they?"

"Nine and six."

"Where would a frightened nine and six year old go?"

"... They would either head home, the police station, the shelter, or ..."

"... Or ...? You look like you've got some kind of revelation there."

"The river. They would go to the river." the nearby river lead out of the town, and was in a residential area, so there weren't any tall buildings near it.

"What? I mean, you're some sort of frog person, but why would they go there?"

"They're faster in the water than on land, can hold their breath for a long time and they don't have to worry about fires."

"What about debris and shit?"

"They already have to worry about that on land, and there's less of a chance of encountering villains in the water."

"... Sure, that sounds great! Lets go check out the river!"

"... Thanks, Gene."

"Woah there! Call me Just."

"... Wasn't tha-?"

"Yeah, people get mixed up over that! Name's Just Gene!"

The man cackled wildly as she stared at him.

* * *

The riverbank was a little more run down than it had been, possibly due to people fleeing to the river to avoid the fires.

"Wait here." she left the man who was flailing his arms in frustration as she dove beneath the surface of the water.

There was a ton of wreckage that had made its way down the river, and she knew it would eventually block the current if it wasn't removed.

She peered underneath some of the rubble and flotsam. There weren't many places to hide, and if there were any traces they could leave behind, it would have been washed away.

Something grabbed at her arm, and jerking it so it would be pulled forward, she saw that it was her brother, holding onto his sister.

Pulling up, she broke the surface, holding onto her siblings.

"Sis!" they cried out as they hugged her as strongly as they could.

"It's okay! It's okay! Let's go to the bank!"

They held tightly to her as she swam back to the waiting man.

"Looks like you found your family!" she panted as relief replaced panic as her siblings lay gasping next to her.

"There's ... still my mother and father." she helped her siblings up, but they stayed behind her.

"S-Sis? Who's that?"

"He's ... Just Gene. He helped me find you two."

"Nice to meet you!" he held out a hand to them, but they didn't inch forward, "Nevermind! Doesn't matter. We better find your mother and father soon then, cause I feel like something's coming this way ..."

* * *

"Sis, is mom and dad alright?"

They were making they way to their house, along with Gene. The residential area wasn't too destroyed, but there were some houses that had giant holes blown in them. Gene explained that there was some big bug flying through the air, using an air cannon as a weapon to destroy the houses.

"Yes, they're fine. We only need to find them."

"What about Deku? Is he okay too?" Samidare was looking at her a little weirdly as they walked, but she didn't understand why.

"... He's definitely fine. Nothing's going to happen to him, but I might punish him later."

"Isn't that bad?!"

"You would have to ask him that, Satsuki."

"... Who's this Deku you're talking about?"

"He's a friend of Sis's, but he's special." Samidare was also being very rude as he used a tone she didn't think was appropriate.

"... But it's not like you're "together" or anything, right, Tsuyu?"

"Who are you to call Sis by her na-?!"

"No ... no, we're not really that close ..." Izuku was dear to her, but she didn't think that they would ever be that way.

"... Sis?" her siblings had stopped, and the buzzing in her head increased. It was unsettling, but she did have a concussion not thirty minutes ago.

"Ah, is that so? That's, uh, a little nice to hear." something tightened around her hand, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"S-Sis?"

"Yes, Satsuki?"

"... Why is that guy holding your hand?"

Questioning why her sister would ask that, she looked down to see that Gene was holding her hand. He had helped her a bit, but she didn't think that meant they should be close.

The buzzing returned, but she didn't need to pay too much attention to that. It was because he had helped her so much that she was indebted to him.

"Wait ..." something wasn't right to the frog girl.

"... Isn't that natural, kid? I've helped her out a bunch, so I mean, she can kinda repay me a little like this, right, Tsuyu?"

"It's ..." she couldn't think, and when she tried to, that buzzing would come back, " ... the least I could do ..."

"... Hey, you bastard! Get away from Sis!" her brother shot his tongue out at the man next to her.

And she grabbed it out of the air.

"Sis-?!" then she quickly threw her brother into Satsuki, sending them to the wreckage of a nearby house.

"... What the hell was that, Tsuyu? Why are your siblings attacking me like that?"

"You ..." the buzzing disappeared for a second and she knew what she had done, "What did you do to me ...?!"

The man looked at her blankly, before he bared his teeth in a cruel smile.

"Hehehe ... oh that expression ...! No matter how many times I see it, it's always exciting! I don't know why you didn't seem to catch on! Be careful of nice strangers!" laughing, the man put his hand on her head and moved his face to hers, but she couldn't move to make him stop, "Asui ... was it? Wow ... what are the odds?! Huh?!" his laughter turned into maniacal, "That I'd run into someone who shares the exact family name of my beloved Kaeru?!"

The mention of her mother's former hero name sent alarm through Tsuyu.

"Ah ... judging by that look, I'm on the right track, aren't I?! I mean, shit! Frog Form? Asui? How can my day get any better than this?!" he started rubbing her head, but she still couldn't move.

Walking away in the direction to where she had thrown her siblings, he easily showed his back to her, but even then, there wasn't anything she could do. Whether she wanted to attack, flee, or even say anything, she wouldn't.

"Now, if you're anything like that woman, you've got that annoying frog resistance. My basic control only lasts so long, but luckily, you're not as experienced as your dear old ... is she your mother?"

"Yes." the words blurted out of her mouth before she had the chance to tell him otherwise.

"Yes ... she was a little bit more wary than you are, Tsuyu. Hell, how lucky can one guy get?!" his smile sent shivers down her spine, but not the right kind of shivers, "Tell me, honestly, did you have any idea of what was going on this whole time?"

"You're a monst- You knew too much about the villain, and I thought it was weird that we weren't attacked at all, despite your warnings, or that there was no one around with all the devastation."

"Hm ... looks like your resistance is kicking in. Well then ..." he came back to her as a few things crawled out of where they were hiding, going to where her siblings had been thrown. They were shaped like humans, but they were twisted and warped into horrible, disfigured states, "Let's change that a little, shall we?"

"What are you doing ...?" the palm of his hand pressed against her face, and she stared at him as black veins were visibly traveling through his skin and headed to her.

He laughed, gleefully staring back into her eye as pain erupted in her face.

"Is it really not that obvious? I'm making the new yo~u, Tsu~yu."

* * *

"Alright! Let's test my brand new, all improved, rewriting skills!" patting her head, he took a few steps back.

"Touch your cheeks with both hands."

Blushing, Tsuyu put both hands on her rear end, and straightened her crouched posture.

"Ha! I meant your face! Are you normally like this?!"

"No ..." she only followed his directions, so he couldn't blame her for misunderstanding.

"Alright then, let's skip the kiddie bullshit. Take off your underwear."

It took her a while because she was burning up, but she slowly removed her pants and shirt.

"Eh? You don't wear a bra?"

"I ... I hadn't changed out of my pajamas ..."

"Hm ..." this is the most exposed she's ever been and his stare was making her head spin, "How old are you-?! Never mind, I don't care!"

Shaking, she grabbed the hem of her panties, and hesitated as he laughed at her.

"Well? I gave you an order, Tsuyu."

"I ... yes, Gene ..."

With a tug, her underwear slipped off and she stood bare.

"I ... It's cold ..."

"Ah, yes." he didn't seem to care that she was nearly dying of embarrassment, "Forgot that your mother had the same issue when we fought. You can put your little pjs back on."

Bending over, she put whatever remained of her former clothes as she felt his stare.

"Alright," she finished dressing herself, "Come here."

She complied, as she had with the other orders.

He then touched her chest. She responded with a tongue slap.

"Shit!" he glared back at her, "Is the control-?! ... No, it's not." rubbing his cheek, he looked down at her crimson face, "Are you an S, Tsuyu, or is that a thing you do?"

"I ... I don't know ... nobody's every done that to me before-"

He was smiling at her, until his head shot to the side.

"Tsk, why the hell did you have to throw them so far?! Looks like they ran away before the husks could get them!"

"I'm sorry, Ge-"

"Just, Tsuyu. Call me Just."

'"I'm ... sorry, Just." she was grateful that he had forgiven her for her errors. Even she didn't know why she had thrown them so far away, but it wouldn't take too long to catch up to them.

"Here, you lead me to them, Tsuyu." holding his hand out, she hesitantly took it, "Heh, you're really bashful!"

"I ... haven't really held hands with any boys, aside from Izuku."

"... Is that Deku? Call him that. I like the ring of it better than whatever his name is."

"... You worry too much, Just. Deku's only a boy." he pulled her closer to him, causing her to clam up.

"Really? Holding hands is the most you've ever done?" as he held her, he chuckled at her reactions.

"I ... I've kissed him, too. On the cheek."

"Don't say that like it's an achievement. Only the cheek? Don't you frogs lick everything? Isn't that a hell of a lot more than a kiss?"

"A tongue ... is only a tongue. My family is desensitized to it, but ... a kiss is still a kiss ..."

"... Really then ...? I wonder what we should do first?" a smirk that made her shudder crossed his face. He put a hand to her face and pressed a thumb down on her large lips, "Hey, Tsuyu, face the sky and close your eyes ..."

Shaking, and slightly biting her lip, she complied.

* * *

"Tsuyu ... Tsuyu you get over here, right now!"

"No ... no! Not you ...!" her parents reactions were a bit strong as they approached them. Her brother and sister were by her parents and Deku was standing nearby, his arm broken. A large, beetle like insect with wings lay on the remains of her house, broken.

"Tsuyu, don't listen to them."

"Yes, Just."

"Why are you here?!" her mother was screaming as she saw Just, "Tsuyu, please, get away from him!"

"Is that the first thing you'll say to me after all this time, Kaeru?!" Just was yelling back at her misguided warnings, "Here, got you a present!"

He threw something at them. She hadn't seen him pick anything up, so even she wondered what it was.

It was her panties.

"Hey ... don't throw those!" her face could rival Deku's at his worst as she tried to hide it with both her of palms, her fingers curled into a fist, "Pervert!"

" ... You disgusting monster!" she had never heard so much hate in her mother's voice before, but it was a bit upsetting. Just was a pervert, but it wasn't as though he was evil.

"Tsuyu-"

"Don't call to me so familiarly, Deku!" she remembered how Just disliked the boy, so she did all she could to not displease him.

Deku looked shocked and hurt, but he didn't seem to have lost any hostility for the one beside her.

"Kaeru, Kaeru, Kaeru ... you must have known I'd come back eventually, right?" she didn't like how he was staring at her mother.

"Just ... please ... look at me like that."

"Ah, sorry, Tsuyu. I was reminiscing about the past!" he put an arm around her, bringing a little red to her face as she reminisced what happened before they arrived.

"What the hell ... do you think you're doing so freely to my daughter, you piece of shit ...?!" she could feel the rage her father had, but it was misplaced.

"Izuku ... she's probably under the effects of his quirk, GeneJust!" her mother had quickly regained whatever composure she had and was already telling Deku about her man's quirk, "He needs to reapply it regularly in order to control her! Try to get her away from him!"

"Yeah, boy, come over here and try to take Tsuyu away from me!" Tsuyu took pleasure in how he was willing to fight to defend her from the poor wretch that stared at them.

Deku didn't move at first, given how cowardly he is, but he eventually stepped forward.

"... Mrs. Asui, please get everyone away."

"What are you talking about?! We're not going to leave her!"

"She would want you to be safe, so please-!"

"No, she ain't leaving, kiddo." Just announced as figures started crawling to them.

They were the husks, or remains of some of the unfortunate people who had crossed Just. They encircled the group and prevented them from running away.

"Just, please don't hurt my family."

"Don't worry, Tsuyu, I won't touch your siblings or mother. The other two have to, well, I don't really have to say it, do I?"

" ... No, I understand." it was unfortunate, really, but there was no stopping him once he wanted something done.

"Tsu-"

"I thought I made it clear that you're an eyesore, Deku!"

"... A-Asui, please rethink this! He wants to kill your own father!"

Said father winced when he heard those words, but Tsuyu knew he was smart. He probably figured out that these few moments might be his last.

"... It's unfortunate, it is, but that's what must happen."

"Sis ...!" her siblings were screaming, croaking, and crying, and she desperately wanted them to see that it would be alright, but Just would need to help them understand first.

"... G-Gah ...!" Deku let out a strange gasp before he started running at them.

"Destroy him, Tsuyu." Just whispered to her, and she ran to meet the boy, eager to please her man.

Her tongue wrapped around his leg, and before he could react, she pulled hard. The force used to pull him off his feet was enough to send her at him, and reaching the fool, she tried to shove her palm into his face, but he was able to twist in the air and intercept her attack with his arm.

Grabbing her fist, the poor boy tried to get her into a lock, but her flexibility and basic strength was too much for his. Forcing him to twist his body again, she grabbed both of his arms and planted her feet on the ground. From there, she slammed him into the ground.

As he gasped for air, she stomped on his throat. With bloodshot eyes, he stared up at her, choking.

"W-Woah! You move fast, Tsuyu!" Just must have been impressed by her, which made her feel a bit embarrassed.

"Tsuyu ...!" "Sis ...!" they wouldn't stop making noise, but her father remained quiet.

"Tsuyu ..." somehow, he was still capable of breathing. She stomped repeatedly on his head, hoping he would stop moving.

"You've never really listened to me, Deku ..." seeing that he had done what she had wanted, Tsuyu silently thanked the boy.

"... That was it?" Just approached them, seeing that Deku wasn't moving, "Man, for a second there, I thought it would be tougher than that!"

"His quirk is nothing more than a glass cannon. He's got a lot of strength, but it breaks him." staring down at the fallen Deku, she explained, hoping that she'd be praised for defeating one of the obstacles.

"Hm ... maybe he'd make good material as a husk-" a smack rang out and she quickly turned to where it came from.

"Y-You did this to Sis, you bastard!" Samidare, the fool, had hit Just with his fist.

The older man had a cold expression as he grabbed her little brother.

"... He's husk food, Tsuyu." and he threw him to the side, towards the monsters.

It was really unfortunate. The buzzing in her head grew as she watched the remains grab onto him, pulling him to their mouths.

A tongue wrapped around the boy's waist, pulling him slightly away from the shambling husks, but it also pulled a few of them with him as he flew in the air.

Her father punched a few of them off of the little boy, but he wasn't strong enough to force all of them off, and so he covered the boy with his body.

The husks behind him had grabbed onto him as well, and with a sudden lunge, they all began to bite into him.

They had gone after her brother, but her father had taken the bites instead.

"Don't ...!" even with those things biting into him, he didn't scream, but she could hear something from the others, "... Let that bastard kill your brother ... Tsuyu ...!"

He fearlessly stared back at her as they tore away into his body. A loud buzzing sprang up in her head before dying down.

"... Could ... you forgive Samidare, Just?" for a moment, the husks had stopped their attack and the older man stared at her.

"H~uh ... why should I do that, Tsuyu?"

"He's ... only a b-"

The man hit her with the bottom of his fist, sending her face to the side.

"Why should I listen to that old bastard that stole Kaeru from me? Explain that to me, Tsuyu?! I thought I told you to not listen to them!"

She watched as her mother kicked a few of them off of her father, and use her poison on the rest to let him go, but something loud and large was jumping into view.

"Ah ... about time the Gorella showed up! Seriously, that bastard, playing around at the police station!"

"... How many of them are there?" she didn't even think anything of the mumbling she heard from the boy below her foot.

"About ten, but the heroes took out six. There's still Gouk, somewhere out there. He's the biggest one, but I called this guy out before we got here, expecting more than, well, that thing there." he pointed to Deku.

The thing arrived, and she was a little disgusted. It looked like one huge organism, but it was in fact, a massive amalgamation of husks that made a larger being.

"Hey, you, go capture that woman and girl over there- and don't you hurt them!"

It panted loudly, like a dog, before roaring and hopping over to where her family was. Her sister had run to her mother's side and fearfully looked at the large thing that was already wrapping one of its twisted hands around her.

"You bastard, leave my daughter alone!" screaming, her mother planted a large hand on the thing, purple liquid shooting into its skin.

It screamed back, letting go of her sister and falling to the ground, convulsing.

"Everyone!" with a hoarse voice, the trash beneath her yelled out, "I'm doing that thing we discussed earlier!"

They must have formed a plan, and she quickly looked to see what her family was doing.

Her mother and sister closed their eyes and put their hands over their ears. Her father only closed his eyes, but her brother was able to do both.

"Just! Your eyes, ears! Cl-!"

Deku forced her off of him, and as she was about to prevent him from doing whatever he had planned, his arms arced out in front of him.

"SM-!" his hands were in a clapping motion, "-ASH!"

A great wind almost forced her away, but she was able to grasp onto the broken, her fingers tearing as they grasped the uneven terrain. Worriedly looking to Just, she saw some sort of insect appendage coming out of his pant legs and bury in the ground.

The wind hurt her eyes, but she withstood the pain long enough to see that her mother and sister were being sent flying by the air pressure. The husks had flown away, along with the Goreilla.

Her tongue shot towards her family, and wrapped around her mother's waist. The woman was holding onto her sister, so she didn't have to worry about catching two flying people.

Her mother was confused for a second before she saw her tongue, and with a motion that seemed more like reflex, her mother's hand gripped her tongue tightly and sent poison into her.

Pain erupted in her tongue, but she wouldn't let go. It felt as though her tongue had lava flowing across it, but Tsuyu would not let go of them so easily.

The wind died down and she brought her family to her. Deku stood in front of her, looking as though he was caught in the middle of an explosion.

The buzzing was becoming stronger, and she wondered why she felt so much pain for the boy in front of her.

"T-Tsu-yu ... d-don't let him ..." he was muttering still as he stood eerily still, his broken arms falling to his side.

"Jeez, this kid! Looks like I'll have Gouk play with him a little!" giggling, Just approached her side as her mother reached their position.

"Tsuyu ... he hasn't had contact with you ... at all this whole time ..." shocked, her mother didn't move as Just approached her.

"Kaeru ... it's been a while, hasn't it?" jealousy sprouted in her heart at the way he spoke to her mother, "It's a little thing I've been working on. Remember? Back when I had that whole, "the world should be like me" phase, and I made that rewrite bomb? Oh, how could you? You're still dying from when you set it off prematurely and were exposed!" he was already reaching out with one hand, ready to make her mother understand, "I know, cause the hospital was the first place I checked for you! You're not doing so well, even with all those hosh posh geneticists putting you through gene therapy, but don't worry, I'll mak-"

Tsuyu reached for her head as the buzzing intensified, sending her to her knees. The man was cut short when Izuku tackled him to the ground.

"You ...! Piece of shit!" Just's hand grabbed onto the boy's face and veins through his skin, piercing into the boy, "Become a husk!"

Screaming, the boy pressed his knee against the man's chest, and tried using his weight to crush him.

"W-What the hell?! What's wrong with your body?! Why aren't you a husk! Huskify! Go through huskification! Just fucking husk already!"

The buzzing was too much for Tsuyu. She choked on a scream and felt something tear through her head.

"SMASH-!"

Her tongue barely pulled back his broken arm before he flicked Just. The hit smashed the very air near her and sent her mother and sister flying into debris.

"Screw it! Just die!" standing up, more veins flowed from Just's arm to Izuku's head, and she could hear the boy gasping in pain as the man tried to eliminate him.

"Tsu ... yu ..." he glanced back at her, his eyes focusing on her as she held his broken and bloody arm with her tongue.

With a kick, she removed Gene's hand from Izuku's head.

"G-God damn it-! That hurts ...!" he held his hand in pain, rolling on the ground and dirtying his white coat, "What the hell, Ts-?!"

His eyes becoming saucers of surprise, he stared at her.

"... What the fuck is that on your hand?"

Startled, she took a look at the limb in question.

It had black veins running through it.

"Seriously, what the fuck?! What the fuck is that?! Why do you have my- oh shit!"

The buzzing was becoming bothersome, and it's incessant noise wouldn't leave her. Grasping her head tightly in both hands, she could feel the black veins enter her head. A massive amount of information drowned out the noise, and her head was becoming clearer.

"You ... you were born, after she retired, weren't you?" looking back at the man, she saw a frightening smile on his face as he stood up, "You were born, after she was exposed to that bomb, weren't you?!"

"You ...!" with a clear head and revulsion flooding her heart, "You're going to pay for this ...! For everything ...!"

"Nah, don't feel like it! I wouldn't be able to call myself a villain if I couldn't run away and hide!" laughing at her, her friend, and her family, he was already looking like he was going to run away, "Man! What an exciting and thrilling day this was! The best I've had in years!"

Taking a step towards him, she could already hear that monster making its way back.

"Thank you, Tsuyu! You're really special, you know?! You've helped me greatly, even though you're also kink in my plan! I'll be ba-" a ringing noise sounded out from his coat, "Hold on, let me get this."

Jumping towards him, she almost kicked his head off his shoulders, but that Gorella thing came back and knocked her to the side. Sliding against the ground, she bounced back to its face and slammed her palm into the mass that she thought could be its face.

A loud rumbling noise filled the area before the ground started shaking.

"What?! I can't hear you! Oh, really? Well, I've already done my part here. Thanks for calling in that favor I owed ya! It's been a blast!"

She sent as much of the poison she had stored in her body into the beast, but the black veins also flooding into its body. Screaming, with foam flowing from its mouth, parts of its head started to grow rapidly and other parts started to explode as it fell over. The thing was also decaying and steam rose from its body as she removed herself from it.

"Hey, interesting tidbit!" the villain was putting his phone away, "All Might was fighting big bad crime for about a hour before he suddenly-"

The kick that she aimed at his face was again, blocked, but it was done by some sort of long, insect that had crawled out of his coat.

"Hahaha! So eager for more action, aren't you?!"

"You're not-!"

The source of the rumbling made itself known as a large, screaming, black mass erupted from the ground, carrying Gene into the sky.

"Sorry! My ride's here! I'll call you sometime, maybe, I dunno!" waving, he laughed once more as the thing carried him through the sky and disappeared past the debris that used to be houses.

Shaking, Tsuyu fell to her knees as she stared at where she had last seen the villain. Looking at her hands, she saw the small, black veins recede into her skin and disappear.

Silently, she knelt there without any awareness of the things around her.

* * *

Something wrapped around her head, and when she was about to fight against it, she saw that it was her mother.

"I'm sorry ...!" croaking madly and hiccuping at the same time, her mother apologized to her, of all the people.

"... What ...?"

"I'm so sorry, Tsuyu ...! I'm sorry for hurting you! I'm ... I'm sorry that any of this happened!" tears flowing down her face, her mother held onto her even tighter.

"It ... wasn't you. This wasn't you ... this ... was me." from the corner of her eye, she could see the discarded panties that the villain had thrown. The things that he had done to her played in her head.

"No ...! It wasn't!"

"It was me that did this ..." she should have never left the shelter. It was the worst idea, and it resulted in something more than what she could have possibly imagined.

"Please ... don't say that-!"

"I thought I could help ... I thought I was doing the right thing ... but instead, I ... I ...-!"

"T-Tsuyu ... look at me!" she obeyed, without any resistance.

Her mother was covered in wounds, and now that she was finally looking at the woman, she could see that her hand was broken and blood dripped down her tear stricken face.

"T-The girl that did that, wasn't you. It couldn't have been."

"It was me, it was because ... the things that I thought, that I said ... that I ... I felt ..."

"N-No! That girl, she's not you, and you know w-why?"

Shaking her head to signify that she didn't, Tsuyu caught glimpses of people wearing medic outfits rushing over to them.

"That girl wouldn't be crying right now!"

Tsuyu lifted a finger to her face, and before she touched the skin, she flinched in fear. Fear of the pain, but she finally did it and felt the tears of mother spoke of.

"Please, my daughter, everything will be alright ...!" her mother stroked her head as she pulled her into another hug.

Past the woman's shoulder, she could see people loading her father and Izuku onto stretchers. Her siblings crying at their sides as the medics led them away.

She couldn't tell her mother that the girl would be crying now. Because she would have wanted to be with Just.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!**

 **Eh, for those few that are wondering, Gene is his family name. So, in the US, his name would be written as Just Gene. In Japan, Gene Just, which is also his quirk's name. What does he look like? Pff, I don't give a shit. He's a douchebag asshole. He's a white American, wears a long white coat like a doctor, and that's pretty much that needs to be said. You can imagine whatever you want for his looks, but if you really want something, then I would have to say what every OC looks like, which I'm bad at.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello, everyone! Here's a new chapter for you all!**

 **Now, there might be some questions why I did that last chapter, but the simple answer is deviation. I don't want to follow canon too closely. Not that a story that follows canon is bad (I enjoy those a lot), but I don't like things to be too predictable. Is there a giant plothole somewhere? Maybe, but that's the price that's paid to make things unpredictable. Whatever! There's a major villain attack that affected several wards, so there's sure to be some repercussions from that.**

 **Now I'm going to rant about canon and crazy theories that don't make sense. Toga's got the blood of three of the students and we've been introduced to those three's families. Wonder if that's what's going to go down or not. I leled when I thought that Asui Tsuyu is the real Toga. Twice duplicated her and she staged it so it would appear she's not related at all to the villains. That might be an interesting story idea ...**

 **I'm following horrifying and horrible with stupid + stupid. I also changed the previous two chapters a little, so go ahead and check them out if you're interested. Chap 13's ending is very slightly different and 14 was edited to reflect the change and the flow might've been improved a little. When you build atop something strange, you're going to only end up with more strange, I guess. That might explain this chapter ...**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

Waking up, Tsuyu found herself in a white room, on a bed. Her tattered pajamas had been replaced by a teal gown and there was a tiny bag with a large, red "O" printed on the side.

Knowing she was in a hospital, she looked around the room to find a set of clothes on the seat in the corner. Aside from that, she was in a single room, with a few cabinets near the door, which was strange because there were many victims in the recent attack.

Taking another look at the fast food bag on the nightstand, she felt herself salivating a little since the last thing she had to eat was the breakfast she had prepared.

"Asui Tsuyu?" somebody rushed into the room as she bit into the syrupy egg, sausage, and cheese sandwich she had found within. Her throat burned with irritation and she realized that it was a little swollen.

Pausing, she stared at the man in the long white jacket as he looked up from his clipboard. He flinched a bit as she took another bite, despite the burn.

"A-Ah ... I see you're doing alright."

"... I'm fine." her throat was coarse and rough, and a bit muffled due to the food.

"W-Well, I've got a few questions if you don't mind answering them."

She remembered him now. He was the doctor who had asked her if there was anything physically wrong with her when she was admitted. The hospitals had been filled, but the villain had stopped attacking the city, so efforts had been redirected from protecting to helping the hospitals accommodate the many patients that had been flowing in.

"I don't mind." she was still eating her sandwich, and it was a little rude, but she was too hungry to care.

"How are you feeling?"

"Hungry."

"I ... see. Now ..." he pulled a seat up to the bed, "We've talked to your parents and they ... felt that you needed a SAK-"

"You mean a rape kit?" she had thought that this would be brought up, but she was already too unsettled from what had happened to her.

"Yes." a bit of professionalism crept into his voice. He must have attended more patients than he could handle, so she understood if he was a little more direct.

"What day is it?"

"You were admitted last night. It seems there were some troubles getting you and your family a room."

"... Today's Saturday?"

"Yes."

"I don't need a rape kit. Nothing of that sort happened to me." she didn't feel comfortable talking about it, but from the sounds of it, she didn't know if they would force it upon her or not.

"... They're your guardians, and they've requested that we-"

"Alright." she set the sandwich down, her nerves getting the best of her appetite, "I understand. Please get what you need."

"... It's alright to say no. We won't perform the test if you don't want it."

"My parents do. I've ... I'll go through with it." she had put them through enough trouble. If they wanted it done, she didn't think it was right to deny it.

"... Alright then. We'll get started right away. If at any point you feel uncomfortable, it's okay to stop."

"... Is there going to be nurse, or another doctor?" she felt unsettled as he pulled something out of one of the cabinets to the side.

"I'm sorry, but there's a shortage of hands ..." he put on some gloves and opened the thing, "... are you ready?"

"... Yes."

* * *

"... Results will take about a week to process, or maybe four. There's been a lot of victims, and ... please be patient."

"I will. Thank you, doctor." the man had become even quieter during the test, possibly because he could see how unsettled she was.

"You're cleared to leave whenever you wish. You can visit your family, their room number is on that slip over there." he pointed to a piece of paper sitting next to the clothes, "They're the ones that left the food and clothes."

"Thank you, doctor." the man left in a rush.

She looked over at the clothes, and then back to the unfinished sandwich. Swallowing the sandwich whole, she got up from the bed and moved to the clothes.

There was a plain black t-shirt, black shorts, and underwear. The bra looked a little too small, but it would do for now. She wondered if her family chose the colors on purpose, but it sure suited her mood at the moment.

* * *

"Tsuyu!" when she entered the room, she was quickly brought into a hug by her mother.

"... Mother ...!" the older woman was warmer than she had remembered. Peering over her shoulder, she saw her father laying in the bed, covered in bandages, and her siblings were sitting next to him. There was another occupant in the room, but they were behind their curtain.

"... Everything alright, Tsuyu?" scratching at a particularly newer looking bandage on his neck, her father was smacked by Satsuki's tongue.

"No scratching, daddy!"

"Tch! It's nothing!"

"Dad! The nurses said they wouldn't put another bandage on you if you keep doing it!" the younger children seemed more concerned than the patient himself.

"They would have to! Not my fault it keeps itching-!"

"Here, let me relieve that for you." putting a hand on his shoulder, her mother visibly gripped his shoulder.

"Ow-! Hey! Your nails are sharp, Beru!"

"Sorry, poison isn't allowed. You'll have to make do with this." after giving him some pain, her mother switched to stroking the top of his head.

"Oh ...!" he crooned. Tsuyu saw her siblings looking nervous, "Hey, that's more like it-! Wait, hold on." he took his wife's hand off his head with a scowl, "Stop distracting me! Tsuyu, is everything alright now?"

"... Father, I'm sor-"

"None of that apologizing nonsense now!" he motioned at her to come closer, and after she did, he pulled her into a hug. The frog girl heard her father grunt in pain, but he made no motion to push her away, "You didn't do anything wrong, so there's nothing to apologize for! I thought I taught you that much?!"

"... Yes, father."

"Good-!" he winced and she wondered why until she stepped back. Her mother was digging her fingers into his shoulder again.

"Now, now ~ Tsuyu's been through a lot, hasn't she? No more yelling at her."

"... I'm not yelling." he pouted as she relented.

"... Samidare, Satsuki?" calling out to them, Tsuyu inwardly cringed as they flinched, "... I'm-"

"You heard dad, Sis ..." the boy hesitantly took a few steps towards her, until he hurried to wrap his little arms around her, "No apologizing."

"We're glad you're better now ...!" Satsuki, a little more subdued than she had been, also hugged her, but their worried and cautious eyes made her feel as though she were being stabbed.. As if she would turn on them at any second.

Tsuyu didn't fault them for that. She didn't even trust herself at the moment due to the tumultuous emotions she could barely control.

"Looks like we're going to have to move again." the patriarch sighed in his bed as he lay back, "Jeez, why did we even move so far away? Didja know that Midoriya's area is still intact?"

"Speaking of Midoriya ..." her mother looked to her, and she felt a wave of dread strike her heart, "Tsuyu, do you want to see Izuk-?"

"No."

"Alright then ...! He's- w-wait ...?" a confused croak escaped her mother's throat as everyone stared at her.

"I don't want to see him."

"Sis?" she still held onto her siblings as the mention of Izuku entered the conversation.

"Where should we move to, father?"

"Nah, I'd rather talk about visiting Midoriya right now. He helped us, Tsuyu, so it's proper to show some gratitude, even if it is the runt." his gaze was a little too critical to Tsuyu, who felt that it was far more important finding a place to live than to talk about somebody that wasn't even here.

"We still need to go shopping for more clothes. I don't think it's proper only having one set for the kids."

"Sis ... why don't you want to see Deku-?"

"Don't call him that ...!" she only noticed now that she was shaking as she nearly screamed at her sister, "I ... I'm sorry."

"... Tsuyu, honey ..." her mother was already approaching her, ready to coerce her to see the boy.

"I ... I don't want to see him. Not now. I can't ..."

"Well ... that's a bit of a problem." she didn't understand her father's words, "Hey, Inko, what do you have to say about this?"

Tsuyu felt cold as she saw a timid woman emerge from the other curtain in the room.

"... H-Hi, Tsuyu." the mother gave her a little wave, "I ... I'm glad that you're alright ..."

"Mrs. ... Midoriya." Tsuyu didn't want to think about who was behind the curtain. His mother being here didn't necessarily mean that her son was here.

"Izuku over here ... i-if you want to see him."

"I-" it was already too late. Izuku's mother was already pulling the barrier away.

In the bed, lay Izuku. His arms were in a double sling and most of his body was bandaged up. A mask was attached to his face and there was plaster around his head.

"He's ... asleep at the moment. I-I'm sure he'll be up soon, if you want to t-talk."

Tsuyu didn't respond. She barely registered Izuku's mother's suggestion as she approached the comatose boy.

Her breath trembling, she reached out to his face, but looking at her disgusting hands, she retracted them.

She remembered how his head cracked as she stomped on it. How limp his arm had been when she crushed it with her hands. How his eyes frantically stared at her as that horrible excuse for a human being held the boy's life in his hands, ripping it from him as she helped.

"... I'm sorry." she was already rushing for the door, "I can't stay here."

"D-Don't go, please ...!" the pathetic whimpering that Izuku's mother was letting out was too much for the frog girl, "I ... I heard about what happened."

A low, hollow croak slipped from Tsuyu's mouth as abhorrence filled her heart as she tried to think of how to reply. His mother had trusted her to take care of her son, to protect and support her friend, and she had failed.

"Tsuyu ..." even his mother should have understood this, and yet, the older woman was staring at her with such pity, "I know you're a sweet girl. There's ... t-there's no way you're not hurting from this."

"... I failed." she somberly stated, "Izuku ... I hurt him ..."

"Tsuyu, you know that ... that he wouldn't hold it against you-"

"Even when he should?!" it came out a little rougher than she would have liked, and her already coarse throat made it sound like she was roaring at the poor woman. Her throat rebelled against her, causing her to cough violently, and she felt it was a form of retribution.

"A-Ah-! Here, water!" Izuku's mother fumbled with a glass and pitcher of water. When she picked the container up, it clattered in her hands as she struggled to pour water.

"In~ko, calm down!" her mother had slunk over to the woman, helping her pour, "Tsuyu's fine ... it's just a case of mono."

"M-Mono?"

Tsuyu felt a part of herself cut away, and she became hollow as she took the glass of water from the Midoriya matriarch.

"Thank you." the water was crisper than she thought it would be, and her throat didn't hurt as much. There was a sharpness to it, but it was something she could easily handle.

"H-Here!" seemingly pleased, Izuku's mother put a chair next to the boy, "Come! Sit over here!"

"I ..." thrown off, Tsuyu didn't know how to escape.

"Sis," her brother was now joining the attack, "... You always do gross things with him, why not now?"

"It's because I'm gross that I don't want to touch him."

"Ugh ..." her father spoke up, a low rumble coming from his throat, "That boy's a more disgusting than you, Tsuyu! He'll probably stand up and shed his skin if you so much as touch him!"

"Daddy! That sounds gross!"

"Don't you think he'll do that?"

"... Yeah ..."

Tired of her family's pestering, Tsuyu relented and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. It was possibly her imagination, but his expression lightened and relaxed.

"...See? Isn't that okay?" his mother asked her with a quivering smile, "I think he feels better around you, Tsuyu ..."

"... He'd be better off without me-"

"You'd be better off without him."

"Ganma!"

For a minute, Tsuyu felt like yesterday didn't happen. That it was only a nightmare as she watched her mother dig her nails into her father again. His comically pained expression was almost enough to make her forget how solemn he had appeared as he almost gave his life for his son.

* * *

Nearing the end of the day, her father and Izuku were discharged from the hospital. The boy was a little woozy, but as long as he didn't try to bother his arms, he would be alright. The older man still had to take antibiotics to avoid any unwanted infections from the terrible bites he had received, and he had a grumpy disposition due to the pills he had to take.

"Hey, Inko? Can we stay at your place for a while?" her father asked his friend after they had gone to the mall and bought a few things.

"E-Eh?! I-I mean ..."

"I'm willing to bet the hotels are going to be booked, so if it's not too much trouble ..."

The mother and son both looked panicky, but Tsuyu knew how pushy her father could be.

"T-T-The place is a mess, a-and it's rather small-"

"Well, if that's it, we don't mind! We're small people, after all!" he was referring to how short they were. She herself was a measly four feet and eleven inches, and her family was around that.

That was the conversation that allowed them a place to stay for the night, or until they found a new place to live.

* * *

"... Alright, now that you're all settled, I hope you'll get some much needed rest!"

Tsuyu wished she had declined with all of her might earlier. Doesn't matter if the hotels are filled, since sleeping on the street might not be so bad.

"T-This is a bit selfish, but could you help Izuku if he needs anything? I'm worried that he might try to hide something, so keep a close eye on him!"

His mother was so kind, but she was a hidden sadist. Keeping her in here, all alone with the one person she didn't want to be with.

"M-Mom! I-I'm fine!" even he didn't want her here. Sure, she could feel the heat from his face where she was laying on the futon, covered by a plentiful amount of blankets, but it was surely from embarrassment.

"T-Then I'll take my leave! Good night!" shutting the door and sealing her fate, Tsuyu could hear her father protesting against this injustice before he was quickly silenced. Justice through force was so unfair, given that her only supporter was controlled through pain and fear.

"... Sorry, Tsuyu."

"No, wait, hold on. Let me begin by apologizing first." she could already feel a mini-headache forming, knowing they were going to apologize back and forth, "Sorry I said those awful things, sorry I almost killed you, and I'm sorry for letting that ... that-"

"C-Calm down, okay?" the boy flailed from his bed, no doubt causing him more pain, "That was out of your control. It doesn't matter how you look at it, there was no way of knowing-"

"I shouldn't have exposed myself to that sort of danger in the first place-"

"You were only trying to help-"

"And I almost got you killed-!"

"Could you do something for me, please, Tsuyu?"

Taking a break from words, the frog girl realized she was breathing heavily, and the other rooms were silent.

"I ..." she didn't know she had been sweating until her hand met her forehead, " ... yeah. I'll do it."

"...I haven't said what it was yet."

"I'll do it anyway."

"...No. Nevermind-"

"Just tell me what it is that you want, Izuku!"

"I only wa- I mean, I want you to ... I dunno, you seem stressed. Before we got here, you've only said a few words to me, and I'm worried, Tsuyu."

"... I don't want to talk about it, Izuku." rolling over in the futon, she noted that she had not taken a shower since yesterday. She probably smelled rank, and she was worried that it would be noticeable.

"Tsuyu ..."

"Don't "Tsuyu" me, Izuku. There's nothing wrong."

"That can't be. There must be something wrong."

"You're wrong."

"... I haven't taken a shower since yesterday." she was almost surprised how his train of thought was similar to hers, "I think I smell like blood, dirt, and I guess, rubbing alcohol."

"... I smell like river water and sweat."

"That ... that doesn't sound so bad, Tsuyu."

"Yes it does. That stuff starts smelling quite strongly if you don't clean it off."

"Would you say that's a problem then-?"

"Izuku! I already said everything was fine!"

"... You're lying." he said it as though it was something that should have been utterly impossible, "Tsuyu, why are you lying?"

"... I'm not lying. I don't want to talk about it and you're being nosy."

"I ... had a question."

"I haven't been able to make you quiet down so far-"

"That's ... I said I was worried." she could hear him moving, causing her to push back the blankets and stand up. She looked down at his broken body, feeling a large amount of guilt.

"Stop moving around. You'll hurt your arms." he stared back at her, pain quite evident from his expression.

"... Could you help me up?" his expression was turning blank, as if he was intensely focusing on something.

"Why, Izuku? You really should get some sleep-"

"No ... it's ..." his face was an incandescent red, "... I gotta go."

"... Gotta go-?" she understood, "I-Izuku!"

"S-Sorry!" surprised by her croak, he was starting to panic like she was, "I-I-I've been holding it in this entire time! I c-can't hold it anymore ...!"

Quickly picking him up, she rushed over to the small apartment bathroom. Knowing that he had a standing toilet, she entered the bathroom with him.

"What are you doing?" through the darkness, she could see the abstract horror spreading across his face.

"Well ... looks like one of us has a small problem." he wouldn't be able to go by himself.

"W-Wait ..." his voice had the quality of a whisper, " ... don't do this."

"Sorry, Izuku, but ..." her fingers were already unfastening his pants, "... bear with me."

* * *

Settling him back in his bed, she could see his skin looked as though his blood had been completely drained.

"No ..." he had been repeating that for a while now.

"Izuku ... it's alright."

"No ..."

"... Are you going to keep asking me questions?"

"No ...- ugh ... Tsuyu ..." her hopes that he would not want to talk were dashed as he regained his sanity, "It ... we need to talk about it."

"What's there to talk about? Your bowel movements, or ... your body?"

"T-Tsuyu ..." ghost-like, his will was weakening greatly, "That man ... he ... what did he do to you?"

"... Nothing. He did nothing."

"There must have been-"

"If I said nothing happened, that means nothing happened ..." he was making her remember what happened, and it was getting more difficult to resist talking about it, "You ... you've always been good at prying away at me, haven't you?"

"I'm worried ..."

"You're persistent."

"Because I have a friend that's as kind as you-"

"Kind? What part of me has been kind?" she stroked his hair with one of her hands.

"... You just helped me-"

"I didn't want you stinking up the room."

"You also saved-"

"I was the one who caused it."

He ceased his arguments, allowing her to play with his hair. She noted that it had dirt and other particulates stuck in it, so he should take a shower when morning arrived.

"I ... I didn't like it when that man talked as though he owned you."

"... The me at the time didn't mind that sort of thing." she saw him wince as she let him know, "He ... controlled me. Even now, I'm ... afraid that there's still some remnants of it left in me ..."

She saw the worry in his eyes, and she could even see the slight shifting in his slings, knowing he wanted more than anything to hold her. He was that sort of person, but she knew it was to try and comfort her.

Getting on her knees, she got close enough to feel his breath on her face.

"He ..." whispering, afraid to be heard, Tsuyu found great difficulty in trying to speak, "He ... kissed me, Izuku ... he touched me ..."

"Oh, Tsuyu ..."

"It ... it's just unfortunate, no, it just sucks, Izuku. It sucks really, really badly ..."

"B-But other than that, you're fine, right?"

"... Yeah."

"I mean, it's as you said, it really, really sucks." she could tell he was as shocked as she thought he would be, "But ..."

"You don't need to say anything, it's alright-"

"N-No! I mean, I ... I ... I don't like that guy at all!"

Seeing his attempt at rage elicited an amused croak.

"That's why I didn't tell you, Izuku. There's nothing you can do or say to make it better." she stroked his forehead, letting a few more croaks out as she saw the small beads of water in his eyes.

"I ... it's not right! I ... I wish I knew what to say ..." she could see the frustration bubbling over in his eyes as he struggled to use all of his power to find the right words, something she was quite familiar with.

"As do I, Izuku." she wiped the beginnings of his tears away, "But that's how it is. The world is ... quite the unfair place."

"... C-C-Could I get a k-k-kiss?" staring at him in slight surprise, she didn't know how she should react to such a bold move.

"... My ... lips are too dirty-"

"I-I-I don't m-mind!" she was already losing him to his nerves. Soon, he would degenerate into a mumbling mess.

"I've ... got mono."

"T-Tsuyu ..." she could tell it was taking everything he had to continue, "I ... I-I haven't heard that y-you d-didn't want to d-d-do it."

"I ..." she asked herself when he had become so cheeky. Biting her tongue slightly, she didn't know what was going on.

"... I-It's not as though you like me." she didn't know what he was talking about. First he asks for a kiss, then he says it doesn't mean anything, "It'll ... it'll be your first true kiss. I-I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to do ..."

"... You're a fool ..." she muttered into his ear, "It was only a kiss ..."

"Please, Tsuyu ...I don't like that ... h-he-"

"It's ... not as though I like you or anything, alright?"

"H-Huh-?" she interrupted him by coming closer than she had ever been to him.

Pulling back, she couldn't distinguish if the heat was from him or her.

"... Happy now?"

"... W-uh ..." her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see his pupils become as small as pinpricks as red veins covered the sclera completely.

"... Fool. You're such a ..." she struggled to find her words. Her mind was all over the place after she did the one thing she had forbidden herself to do, "... you're so ... helpless ..."

"... W-uh ..." he let out that same weird noise. She worried that he was choking, but she knew he would be alright.

"... Enjoy the mono." she quickly made her way back to her futon, crawled under the blankets, and wished she had simply slept outside.

This was exactly why she didn't want to be alone with him.

* * *

As she desperately struggled to fall asleep, the door suddenly opened, and she peeped beyond the covers to see who it was.

"... I was worried why it was quiet in here ..." her father quickly entered the room, inspecting the two.

"... Don't you knock? Or know what time it is?" she asked, a little shocked at his sudden appearance.

"... W-uh ..."

"What the hell's with this room?" he must have been talking about the All Might paraphernalia, "Looks almost like your old room, Tsuyu-"

"I stopped collecting a long time ago."

"... W-uh ...'

"Leaving this little cretin in the same room as you pisses the hell-" "... W-uh ..." "- outta me- what's wrong with him?!" annoyed, the older man looked down at the brightly colored boy.

"... He's being the same foolish, nosy, inquisitive, ridiculous Izuku that he's always been."

"Uh huh ..." looking to the both of them, he was beginning to leave the room, "... No funny business, you hear me? None of it!"

"... W-uh ..."

"... Yes, father." and then he left.

She was extremely thankful that Izuku had gone braindead, or else she would have been at his side.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!  
**

 **If the char's are OOC, then it's my inability to grasp how people deal with trauma of this magnitude.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Nothing new to say. I might make a new story, but it'd mess with my thought process for this one. This chapters a little more dirty than the others, but well, you'll see.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

"Tsuyu, don't ... stop ..."

Forcing herself from her sleep by the ominous moans from her friend's bed, Tsuyu pulled her head from out of the little nest she had made to see what Izuku was doing.

It was difficult to see what time it was because Izuku's room didn't have any windows, but the little clock he had on his desk let her know it was too early to wake up.

The boy continued moaning as she crawled out of the covers and looked to see why he was making such embarrassing noises, hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.

With his face half covered by his comforter, she could tell he wasn't awake, which brought her some relief.

"Izuku ..." shaking the boy slightly, she hoped he would stop, or wake up.

"Tsuyu ... " he huskily breathed her name out at her touch.

"Izuku!" not knowing if he was asleep or awake, she shook him more roughly.

"O-Ow ...!" finally waking up, although it was at the cost of hurting him, Tsuyu saw him sweating as he pulled himself up, "T-Tsuyu? What's wrong?"

"You were muttering my name in your sleep."

"... W-What?"

"It was ... embarrassing."

"U-Um ... it's ... I-I was dreaming that I w-was ... eating."

"That's highly distressing-"

"I-I meant, I was ... I-I was ..." sighing, he wasn't able to look at her, "... I was having a nightmare."

"... About what?" she took a seat on the edge of his bed. He scooted over a bit, to create some distance, but there wasn't much space on the small bed to get very far.

"... Nothing."

"It had something to do with me, Izuku, or should I assume you were ... eating me-?"

"I-I ...!" flustered, she could tell she was getting the best of him, "... yeah, I was dreaming that I was eating you." pursing her lips, she knew he was lying, "You tasted like a parfait."

"Izuku ..." a little irritation crept into her voice as he avoided her.

"There were multiple layers of melon and orange jelly, and the ice cream was mint and vanilla."

"... You're making me hungry, but that's not what you were really dreaming about, was it?"

"... No. It doesn't matter, does it?!" he dived for the covers, and like a worm, he wiggled deeper into his bedspread, "It's nothing but a stupid dream ..."

"... It doesn't have to be a dream, Izuku ..."

"W-What-?!" it was already too late for him to run, after having dug his own grave. She pounced on the shaking lump and dug her hands inside.

"W-W-Wait, Tsuyu-!" he let out a short yelp as her hands explored his body, "T-That's dangerou-!"

Pulling him out, she could see the crippled boy doing his best to pry her hand out of his pants, but without arms, it was too difficult.

"It's not dangerous. See?"

"N-No ... d-don't do that, Tsuyu!" he was already in the palm of her hand, and escape was impossible.

"You're ... little, Izuku-. Ah, you're not?"

"T-T-Tsuyu ...!"

"... Oh ...? Reaching your limit ...?" breathing into his neck, she could feel his spasms becoming stronger.

"T-Tsu-!" shoving her tongue into his mouth, she watched his face morph into something she had never seen before. A mixture of pleasure and confusion, and it only motivated her to continue.

"Sh~ ... it'll be alright, Izuku ... just ... re~lax ..."

Pressing her belly to his, wrapping her legs around his side, and feeling the small tremors that shook his body made Tsuyu's head spin. Her hand was covered with a hot, luscious material that she could smell even from within his boxers.

His muffled voice sent little vibrations into her tongue, and she caressed his face with her other hand.

"Let's make this more fun, Izuku ~"

Black veins shot into his head, and another set of spasms started to shake the boy. Trying to call her name, he could only stare back in fright before his eyes rolled back into his head, and slowly, his face started to take the shape of another.

* * *

With a start, Tsuyu almost sprang out of the tangled bedspread she had made for herself on the futon laid out on the floor. Looking at her hands, she could see the black veins receding back into her treacherous skin.

She had no time to silence herself as a choked sob sounded out through the tiny room. Desperate, she covered her head with some blankets and hoped that the boy near her was still a heavy sleeper.

"... Tsuyu ...?" a small voice spoke up from the bed next to her.

" ... W-What?" responding reflexively, with a hiccup as well, Tsuyu once again wished she hadn't slept in the same room.

"Are you okay?" he was sliding off of his bed. There was a slight raspy tone in his voice, no doubt in the girl's mind that it was her doing.

Tight lipped, she tried her best to stay silent, but the sniffles and the tiny hiccups must have alerted him that something was amiss.

"You don't sound okay-" he flopped off of his bed, landing on the carpet with a soft thud. Grunting in pain, he still somehow managed to crawl to where she was, "What's wrong?"

"It's n-nothing."

"... It's alright, Tsuyu ...!" she could feel him trying to hold her through the blankets, but the best he could do was press against her, forcing her to remember her nightmare, "I'm here! It's okay ...!"

"... I'm horrible ...!" knowing he couldn't see her, she huddled as close to him as she could.

"... T-Tsuyu, it's alright! Don't worry about the blankets!"

"I'm ... hor-rible?" she didn't understand at first until she felt part of the blanket with her hand.

The blanket squished as she pressed against a moist spot.

The mortified girl felt the boy pat the spot where her head was under the blanket.

"It ... it sometimes h-happens, to all of us-!"

"No!" tossing the blankets off of her, she emerged to see that the blanket was now covering the boy.

"C-Calm-"

"No ...!" pulling the boy out from her mess, she quickly rushed him over to his small bathroom.

* * *

"Tsuyu-!" crying out as he was pushed against the tiled floor, Izuku pleaded with the girl, "Wait a second! What are you-?"

She began to remove his clothes. Being a bit more careful when removing his arms from the slings, she saw that they was strangely healed for the most part. Disregarding it, she completely undressed the helpless boy, putting the clothes near the door.

"T-T-Tsu-!"

His mouth opened widely, his eyes becoming shot as she sprayed him with the water from the nearby shower head. Forcing him on the tiny stool in the room, she continued to spray him.

His distress was only made more apparent when she dumped some shampoo on his head. Her large hands quickly covering his scalp in the slightly viscous fluid. Again, he was sprayed with more water.

Shivering and naked, his eyes were glued to her as she lathered body soap between her fingers.

"D-D-D-Don't do t-this, T-T-Tsu-y-y-u ...! L-L-Let-t-t's thi-ink ab-ab-out it-!"

He stopped squirming after she started to apply the body soap to his skin. The cold air was slightly warmed by his body temperature, turning the water from freezing to lukewarm. His body relaxing to the utmost, he also stopped talking before she finished the application.

Then she rinsed him off with more water, knocking him out of his stupor.

Staring down at the shaking boy, looking to her hands, and then realizing what happened, Tsuyu was lost. She started to pull her pajamas top up from her waist. As it reached the bottom of her chest, the boy started stuttering rapidly and he rushed out of the room, naked and wet.

After pulling her top off, she dropped the lower half of her clothes, stepping out of her pants and throwing them to the door. Sitting on the stool, Tsuyu turned the water on.

The nightmare had been too sudden for the girl. Before, she was able to control her reactions, but the subject had been to much for her. There was never a lustful element to any of her past nightmares, and this sudden addition had left her confused and more fearful than before.

Something was shaking Tsuyu from her reflections and she found herself slumped over, but still on the stool. Looking to see what had happened, she saw that Izuku, with his head turned away, was spraying warm water on her with the shower head. His arms were shaking, possibly because he was putting them through a little too much stress.

"... W-Water takes a while to warm up ..."

He was fully clothed, but it was readily apparent that something was different about him.

"... I suppose it sometimes happens, to all of us."

"I-I can't help it, okay?! I-I'm s-sorry! W-With all that happening, a-and this ...!"

* * *

"H-Here, some clothes."

Izuku set some clothes outside the door. She had shooed him out of the room after he had resuscitated her. Picking them up, she had a little trouble getting dressed, but everything fit alright and she exited.

The boy was sheepishly standing there, trying to not look at her.

"I put ... the t-things in the wash. D-Don't worry, I wore gloves."

"... How do I look?" it wasn't anything special. Only a standard t-shirt and shorts, but she felt like teasing the boy.

"... G-Great."

"It'd be more reassuring if you were actually looking at me."

Mustering up whatever nerve he had, he managed to look at her for a few seconds before turning red and avoiding her.

"... You look really great."

"... Thank you. I want you to do something for me." Tsuyu took his hand and moved them to their shared room. Rummaging through her belongings, she took a brush out and handed it to him, "Brush my hair. If there's any knots, try to untangle them."

"B-But I-"

"Please, Izuku ..." she looked to the clock and saw it wasn't time to start breakfast, at least, not when she would, "I'm only bothering you with this because ... it's harder to do it on my own. With this hair of mine, it would take forever." she was four feet eleven inches, and her hair was thick and almost as tall as her.

"...O-Okay, I'll try ..."

* * *

She grimaced as another tug sent her head backwards a bit and Izuku scrambled to undo the knot that had formed in her hair.

"S-Sorry!"

"It's alright, don't worry about it." she replied, for the fifth or so time. He wasn't doing too bad, but he was too shaky and impatient, "Are your arms alright? They were seriously broken a couple of days ago."

"Recovery Girl was visiting hospitals, helping out people that needed it. I ... was lucky that she was there."

"... I'm-"

"I-I wasn't seriously hurt, it was luck! Really, it was luck ...!" he continued to brush her hair, but Tsuyu felt something thinner also running through her hair.

"Your hair is really smooth, Tsuyu. It's ... like silk-"

"That's an overused expression."

"Yeah, but ... it's heavy-"

'That's a worse word, but painfully true."

"... It's really pleasant." it pulled back, leaving the brush as the only thing in her hair, "A-Ah, sorry! I was ... touching your hair."

She clenched her toes and fingers when he had stopped, as it had also felt nice to her.

"... You can touch it, Izuku. I don't mind."

"M-My hand's a little dirty, so ... yeah ..." the brush stroked her hair a few times, slowing down as it did. Still clenching, she bit her tongue.

"... Touch my hair."

"... S-Sure."

Relaxing once his fingers started running through her hair, it didn't take long for her to wince as his finger caught another knot.

"S-Sorry!"

* * *

Her friend rushed out of the room after she was done showing him how to tie the giant knot in her hair. Exiting, she saw that Izuku's mother was already cooking.

"Mrs. Midoriya! I ... may I help you?"

"Ah, Tsuyu! Good morning! Of course you can!" smiling, the matriarch let her know what she was preparing and Tsuyu assisted.

"What's my son up to?" Tsuyu paused, "Did something happen?"

"... He needed to go to the bathroom last night."

"Oh my ... he didn't?!" she put her hands to her mouth as the boy reentered, a basket filled with blankets and clothes.

"The futon is drying at the moment, so ... what's wrong?" setting the basket down in front of his room, he came back to see his mother glaring at him.

"I-zu-ku! You didn't make Tsuyu stay in a stinky room, did you?!"

Tsuyu saw some shuffling near the bathroom, and a quick glance revealed her mother entering it. It would be some time before it could be used, knowing how long it takes to wash long hair.

"W-What? I didn't! T-Tsuyu made sure of that ..."

"W-What do you mean?"

"S-She ..." his mother didn't need to question the boy further after seeing his reddening face.

"Tsuyu ...?" the frog girl continued the preparations, "What really happened?"

"... I had a nightmare."

"O-Oh ... um, i-it happens to everyone, so don't w-worry."

"... Yeah, but I'm thankful that Izuku cleaned up for me. It's good that he had gloves."

The boy's flinching alarmed the frog girl.

"Gloves? We don't have any gloves. I needed to buy some, but I forgot ..."

"Izuku!" she couldn't believe that the boy had lied.

"W-Well ... I know how you would get upset ... b-but I made sure to wash my hands-!"

"That's not good enough!"

"Shit ..." it was too late, she could hear her father stumbling into the front room, "Didn't make it to the bathroom in time-" he started sniffing loudly.

"Ah, good morning, Ganma! Me and Tsuyu are making breakfast-!"

"What's that smell?" the man ignored his friend as he walked quickly towards the group, dressed in light blue pajamas with little frog print.

"We've got miso, boiled eggs, some fried eggs, some salad and pickled veggies-!"

"Not that!" gruffly, her father approached Izuku, still sniffing loudly in an terrifying way.

"G-Good morning, Mr. Asui!" the boy greeted the older man, but it wasn't returned as the man grabbed his hand, sniffing it.

"What the hell?!" he started sniffing the boy's head.

"C-Can I help y-you?"

"What the hell ...?!" he then grabbed the boy's legs, lifting him off of his feet and started to sniff around his crotch.

"F-Father!" "G-Ganma?!"

The boy was too shocked to respond, but the older man dropped him on his head.

"Tsuyu, explain!" he scowled at her as she sucked in her lips and bit them.

"Ganma!" Izuku's mother lightly bopped him on the head with some newspaper, distracting her father, "You explain!"

"Your brat smells like my daughter!" the intensity of his stare was diminished by the intervention of Izuku's mother, but it was still a little too much for Tsuyu as she stared at the ground.

"T-They stayed in the same room, didn't they?!"

"He smells like her! Like she marked him!"

There were dreaded words. She didn't know how to respond in a way that didn't involve Izuku being too close to her.

"S-S-She had a nightmare! He was only cleaning-!"

"That doesn't smell like something that would come from a nightmare, Inko! Tsuyu!"

"It ... it was a nightmare ..."

"Don't lie to me, Ts-!"

"Well, now that's settled!" Izuku's mother's clapped her hands, bringing the boys' attention to her, and slightly making Tsuyu glance at her, "Let's all calm down, and why don't you two go outside for a bit? Freshen up!"

"Eh?! I'm not done here, and it's cold-!"

"Go outside ...!" with a demon's smile, the matriarch's hand landed on her father's shoulder, and the next thing Tsuyu knew, she and Izuku's mother were the only ones in the kitchen. She had heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, but it had been too fast, and she was too lost in her thoughts to notice what had occurred.

"Tsuyu ... it's okay ..." the frog girl was brought into a hug.

"I-It ..." a slight hiccup, but she didn't know why it appeared, "... it was a nightmare ..."

* * *

"Eh, De-Izuku! You smell!"

"... You smell weird, Izuku."

"Izuku~ you smell like Tsuyu!"

Her family's reactions were generally the same, but Samidare looked used to it while Satsuki stared at Izuku in confusion. Tsuyu's mother didn't act as though it was strange, unlike her father.

Her father had to be brought in by the boy, since he was nearly falling asleep due to the cold, but it was gradually warming up, and Izuku's mother gave him a little quilt and some warm drink to help him out. Her mother also cuddled up to him, so he gave out a slight sigh and she could tell he forgave the Midoriya matriarch.

The breakfast was good, but Tsuyu's siblings cried out a little that there weren't enough boiled eggs, which was understandable since her family would consume twenty five to thirty eggs in a single sitting. It was insane to think another family could eat as much as they would, but Tsuyu had once seen Habuko eat just as many as she did when they were in middle school, so standards might have changed a little.

After breakfast, the kids were sitting around Izuku's sofa, the TV settled on some program. Samidare didn't want to be near anyone, so he sat on the ground, while Tsuyu sat on one side while Satsuki and Izuku were on the other.

"You kids stay here! We're going out to see if we can get a place!" her parents were going out, but the prospects of finding a home weren't too high.

"I'll go to the store, is there anything you would like?"

"Jelly!" "Some pads." "Maybe some jelly, Inko."

"Looks like there's a lot of jelly lovers here ... and I'll get you some pads, Tsuyu." the adults left, leaving the group to watch TV.

"What are pads, Sis?"the little girl sat on Izuku's lap, trying to steal the heat from his body.

"You'll find out later, Satsuki and... I need to call Habuko, to make sure she's okay."

"Here." Izuku handed her his phone, "She'll be alright! Mongoose could fight off villains with her words alone!"

"... She might take that as an insult, Izuku." she let the confused boy ponder about that while she dialed the number.

After dialing, the contact information he had stored on his phone popped onto the screen. Thankfully, it was a respectful "Mongoose Habuko" instead of anything silly.

"Midoriya?! You okay?!" a worried, slightly slithering voice chattered out of the earpiece.

"It's Tsuyu."

"Tsuyu?! You're – wait, that's actually believable-"

"What's believable, Habuko?"

"Nothing! So, where are you? Is everything okay?"

"Yes." Tsuyu looked over to see that Samidare had settled on a familiar hero show, "So, school's canceled everywhere?"

"Yeah, some sort of emergency stay at home kind of thing. They're worried that some villains are still around, so no school! Yes!"

"That's unfortunate. I was looking forward to some of my classes-"

"You're a hero!" Tsuyu was a little startled when something touched her leg, but she saw that Satsuki was slowly crawling towards her, "You get to have kick-ass hero classes! It must be a blast!"

"It's actually a lot like middle school." the little girl snuggled up to her chest, her small head nuzzling her neck, "There's a lot of regular, fun stuff like math, history, and-"

"Bleh! That sounds awful!" Tsuyu saw that Izuku was engrossed in the tv show, along with her brother, "Ugh ...! I have homework! Why'd you bring up school?!"

"No reason." Izuku flinched when her toe touched his cheek, and when he saw what she was doing, he lightly tapped her foot away, "My heavy day is late."

"Probably cause of all this nonsense!" the boy turned bright red, knowing what she was talking about, "What's with all the villain attacks?! You're a hero, you should know, right?!"

"Nope." she put one foot on Izuku's chest and the other on his shoulder, slightly dragging him towards her, but he was doing his best to ignore her, "I'm not a hero yet. I'm a hero-in-training."

"Close enough!" her feet moved down, one on his rear and the other nearing a certain special area. Izuku turned to her and immediately turned bright red after seeing her position, "Well, I've gotta find a new place to live in. Right now, I'm at a hotel."

"It's not a love hotel, is it?" as she said it, her foot did something dangerous, but Izuku was too cowardly to remove her since the children were around, "That would be hilarious."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"No ...!" a smile slowly graced her lips at her friend's misfortune.

"S-Shut up! It's not like we had much of a choice! I don't have a boyfriend to rely on, you know?!"

"... Neither do I." one of her feet was gradually warming up, and she stopped wiggling her foot.

"So, Izuku's just some sort of toy?"

There was a little stiffness near her foot, and so she withdrew it. Receiving a slightly pained look, Tsuyu stared her friend.

"You have plenty of toys there to rely on-"

"Gah ...! I'm hanging up!"

"... Good to know you're hanging in there, Habuko."

"... Same to you, Tsuyu. Don't go dying on me now!" a little click, and Tsuyu dropped the call.

"Here you go." holding the phone out, Tsuyu let out a tiny croak as the boy awkwardly received it.

"T-Thank you."

"Jeez! Finally! I'm trying to watch the show, Sis!"

"Sorry, Samidare, I'll be sure to be a little more quiet." with her feet encroaching upon Izuku, he started to shift further away.

"S-So, anything you want to do today?"

"No." it was unanimous among the kids. Tsuyu stretched her legs out even more, but Satsuki was becoming uncomfortable, so she gave up on teasing the boy.

But he grabbed her foot. Staring at him, she saw that he was moving both hands to the trapped extremity and his fingers pressed against her skin in a rubbing manner.

A long, low croak crept out of her throat, startling the younger kids.

"W-What was that?!" "S-Sis?!"

He did it again, forcing another croak to flow out.

"... Ew, Sis! You're starting to smell gross!" her brother was holding his nose, so Tsuyu took her sister off of her and practically picked up Izuku, taking him to his room.

"Y-You started it-" half crouched, he was hiding his face with his arms.

"And I'm ending it. I'm sorry for teasing you, but ... I don't think I can take it." nervous, she was checking her pants to see if there were any stains. Unfortunately, there was one starting to form.

"O-Okay, I'll try- what th-the-?"

"I have to change, so leave."

* * *

Using the bathroom to rid herself of any extra scents, Tsuyu returned to the room where they watched more shows and a movie. The credits of the movie contained a familiar name, one that Satsuki was quick to point out, but it was an older movie.

Izuku's mother came back with groceries, and handed out some jellies to the kids. Tsuyu and her siblings took a long while in savoring the jelly while her friend and his mother ate theirs quicker.

Her parents arrived shortly after, looking a little weary.

"... Went by your schools and got your paperwork." he passed out some sheets of paper, to the chagrin of every kid except Tsuyu.

"Welcome back! How was your search?" Izuku's mother handed them some jelly, as they sat down at the dining table.

Tsuyu's father produced a key from his pocket, and he set it down on the surface. It looked similar to the one that Izuku's mother had.

"Got a room in this building, of all places. Makes it seem like all the searching we did was stupid ..."

"Now, now, Ganma. It's good to be thorough." her mother tried comforting her husband, but it seemed they had something else on their minds.

"It's got everything a family would need. Functioning bathroom, kitchen, and a bedroom-"

"One ... bedroom?" Tsuyu felt uneasy, not liking how her father had said it.

"... We might as well tell you kids now, but yeah, one bedroom." the girl didn't like how their parents had to prepare themselves to tell them something.

"We're going overseas for some time."

The reaction from their audience was the same. Surprise and disbelief.

"W-Why?" Izuku's mother was the first one to react, as she was the least shocked of the group.

"We've been talking about it, but ... we think it's best we have some distance, at least, for a while-"

"That's nonsense! After what happened-!"

"Tsuyu, honey ..." her mother cut her off, quieting her shouting, "It's because of what's happened ... that we have some distance. That ... that man is after me, not you-"

"Y-You can't mean that ... you're using yourself as bait?"

"No, boy, we have no intention on being bait, it's that right now, that man is here. If we're not here, it's harder for him to find us." her father sighed and ran a worn hand through his hair, "That bastard ... he kinda crippled my business here ... he might go after it again if I were to stay here, so it's best that I probably try to work on international relations for the moment. Maybe see about expanding worldwide, or something like that."

"That's worse than rebuilding here! It's more expensive, costly, and so much harder to manage-!"

"It's better than risking the lives, Tsuyu! I'm not willing to put a cost on human life!" he shut her argument down quicker than she could think it up, "It's safer, no matter how you look at it in a different country!"

"You're ... going away?" Satsuki had taken it the hardest, as loneliness was already showing up on her face.

"Oh ... only for a little while, sweetie ...!" her mother quickly wrapped her up in a hug.

"... Don't let him do this ...!"

"... There's no choice, Tsuyu-"

"He wants you to go away! He wants you to be alone, where we can't reach you!"

"Have some faith in heroes abroad, honey-"

"I ... I ...!" the events of Friday played through her head, reminding her of what would happen if she acted without that faith, " ... I understand ..."

"... Tsuyu ..." her mother pulled her into the hug she had with Satsuki, "We know ...! We know ... it'll be alright! How ... how about we go see that apartment, okay?"

Silently, she complied with her mother and they went to go see the apartment.

It had everything they would need, as they said. It had a bed, and some other amenities such as a burner and a refrigerator.

Going back to Izuku's, which was two floors above them, they rested for a bit, but Tsuyu's parents were already packing up.

"You're ... you're not going so soon, are you?" Tsuyu tentatively asked, seeing her parents quickly packing up their small amount of belongings.

"There's a lot of people trying to get out." her father was already done, and was waiting for his wife, "It's best to go now, before they do something silly like close the airport."

"That's insane!"

"With all of the talk they're doing, I wouldn't be surprised." the seriousness in his voice couldn't be ignored, but Tsuyu was distracted by her mother finishing up.

" ... What about your condition, mother?"

Her mother paused briefly, before giving her a smile.

"The place that made my medicine ... got destroyed. They have the facilities to make it elsewhere ..."

That smile wore away at Tsuyu. It was the "everything's going to be alright but not really" sort of thing that wrenched at her guts.

* * *

"Got everything, Beru?"

"... Yes." her shoulders small, she held the only bag that she owned. They all standing outside, as a taxi waited for its two passengers on the street.

"Alright! Goodbye, Inko! Goodbye, Izuku! Goodbye, my children!" the woman quickly hugged her friend, Izuku, Samidare, Satsuki, and then held onto Tsuyu.

" ... Don't let them come closer, Tsuyu ..." her mother held onto her tightly, with her weak grip.

"M-Mother?" try as she might fight against it, her hiccups came back.

"I ... I'm barely holding myself back ..." withdrawing, her mother moved to the taxi as Tsuyu noticed that her father had already hugged her siblings and then hugged her.

"I love you, Tsuyu. We'll be back before you know it."

"... You don't have to tell me that. I already know ..." after pulling away, Tsuyu heard sniffling to her side.

"M-Mommy ...!" Tsuyu caught her sister before she could run to her parents.

" ... go ..." her brother was muttering something, "... Don't go ...!"

Surprisingly, it was her brother that was sniffling. Satsuki was croaking and crying while Samidare was struggling to hold his tears back.

"I-I'm sorry ...! Don't go ...! Please ...!" now she was holding her brother back, as he cried out. Their croaks were louder than anything she had heard in her life as she held them back.

"Daddy ...!" Satsuki was trying to wirm her way out of her grip, but Tsuyu's hands weren't for show. They were more than capable of doing something like holding a little girl from running to her mother.

Her parents were already turned away, heading to the taxi. The Midoriyas were to the side, not sure what they should do.

"Inko." her father nodded towards the woman, who bowed slightly with a frown on her face, "Come here, boy."

Beckoning her friend closer, the older man gripped Izuku's shoulder tightly.

He whispered something to the boy, something she wasn't able to hear. Izuku's reaction was firm, and determined while her father's expression seemed stern, before it broke out into a small smile.

"See ya, kid."

"Don't go ...!" "Come back ...!"

They didn't turn. Not once did they turn back to their children. Her mother paused before entering the taxi, but her father put a hand on her shoulder. Tsuyu knew her mother was shaking. It was hard to miss it, but even so, she didn't come back. Even when it was obvious that she wanted to.

They left, and she remained with the children crying in her arms.

* * *

"Ready for bed?" asking her tired siblings, Tsuyu was ready to go to sleep.

"I still gotta brush up ..." her dejected brother mentioned as her sister quietly entered the bedroom. Her friend had given them some bed sheets and blankets for the one bed that they shared.

They had stayed at the Midoriyas for some time before Tsuyu asked for help with moving their stuff to their room. Inko had used her quirk to pick some smaller things up while Izuku struggled with the heavier things, which wasn't actually that much.

"... Tsuyu? I ... I still have this ..." bending over to take something out of one of the bags, he quickly found it and handed it to her.

It was the parent signature sheet.

"Why didn't you get this signed ...?!"

"It ... it was messed up when our house got messed up ..." he stared at the ground, holding tightly to his pajama pants.

They had to have seen it. They got it from the school. Why they did not sign it was unknown to Tsuyu. She stared at it in her hands, wondering what possessed her parents to ignore such a thing.

" ... Go brush up." the little boy ran to the bathroom, possibly afraid of her due to the reaction she had shown.

They had trapped her and she didn't know why. They had gone over this, yet they ignored her. They probably got the form from his own teacher, and still, they did not sign the sheet.

She got a pen from one of the bags in the room, the one that contained school supplies.

Staring down at sheet, she didn't understand why they did nothing. They must have had plans to leave before they even picked it up, and they had left her with this decision. Tiny as it was, it wasn't something so trivial to her.

" ... S-Sis ...?" her brother, looking small, lonely, and helpless in his pajamas, stood near the bedroom, clutching anxiously at his shirt.

" ... Let's go to bed."

She signed it.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Not much to say, but it seems as though I'm planning on writing out every single day of their lives after ch. whatever, but I'm not! I swear! I'm stalling until I can watch that special! I might become disappointed, but oh well!**

 **It might seem as if I've lost my touch, and I may have, so if there seems to be any problems you'd like to report or suggestions to make, feel free to do so. I may, or may not take that and update the story.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

Tsuyu woke up to tiny little vices clinging to her body. Groggily wiping her eyes with a hand, she slowly removed the hands of her siblings and climbed out of the small, and rather cramped bed.

They would need separate beds, is what the frog girl told herself as she went to the bathroom.

As she sat down on the toilet seat, she could hear a light rapping on the door. Sighing, she redressed herself and moved to leave the bathroom.

Opening the door, she saw who she had predicted would come when it was still dark out.

"Izuku … it's too early to be messing around ..."

Wearing his All Might pajamas, he shivered slightly in the cold morning air, holding a clothed bundle.

"G-Good morning, Tsuyu!" bowing slightly, maybe more than he should be, he held the package out for her to accept, "B-Breakfast!" his voice was still coarse from the sickness she had given him.

Staring at him as he held out the gift, she couldn't help but sigh at the act of kindness.

"Your mother didn't have to-"

"W-We both thought that it'd be good to check to see how you were doing!" he smiled at her as she took his gift, "After all that's happened, we only want to help you three out!"

"... Thank you." they were right. This helped her out quite a bit, seeing as her siblings would have something a little more nutritious than what she could give them; however, he could have chosen a better time.

"... W-Well then, I suppose that's all-!"

"Come in and eat, Izuku." before he could object, her tongue had already wrapped around one of his hands, and after she dragged him in, she shut the door.

There was no table to sit at, unfortunately, so she had to set the prepared meal on the kitchen counter and opened it to see that the mother had also added in some chopsticks to eat with. The food was also in bento boxes, which saved her even more time in that she didn't have to divide the food into portions.

There were four sets of both bentos and chopsticks. It slightly irked the frog girl that she was read so easily, but putting that matter aside easily, she handed the boy a set of both.

"... Mom made it for you and the kids ..." looking down at what he held in his hands, Izuku had a expression of apprehension.

"Your mother is really thoughtful, but since she added in extra, you might as well have it." she started walking towards the bathroom, "I'll be out in a bit. I'd tell you to make yourself at home, but we're quite lacking in the comfort department."

"I-I'll be fine!" he called out to her before she shut the bathroom door. Finally alone, she pulled her lower clothing away and sat on the toilet.

"What are you doing here, Izuku?!" she could hear her brother yell through the thin door that separated her from the rest of the apartment. Tsuyu thought about getting up, but decided that the two were on good enough terms to leave them alone.

"Oh, you must have babied Tsuyu." pulling her pants up, she already had a hand on the door, "We don't live that far away, so there's no need-"

"Samidare ...!"

* * *

"Thanks for the food ..." with the side of his face a little swollen, Samidare put away the chopsticks and the bento box back into the bag the Midoriya family had given them. Satsuki did the same as he did, but she started to pull at Tsuyu's sleeve.

"Can you braid my hair?" she asked softly, one of her fingers nervously pressing against her lips.

"Sure."

With a cheerful croak, the younger girl happily plopped into Tsuyu's lap, handing her some hair ties. Taking the hair into her hands, Tsuyu formed two ponytails out of Satsuki's hair and slowly started forming a braid.

"Tsk! It's too early to go to school, Tsuyu …!" complaining, her brother pouted as he was fully dressed in his uniform. She was also in her uniform, having gotten ready after scolding the boy, and her sister had gotten ready before she had eaten, but she hadn't done her hair yet.

"There's not much to do here, Samidare. You might as well go."

"... We can go to Izuku's house!"

"It's more of an apartment ..." her friend had stayed, wanting to take the trash back to his place, since they had no garbage can.

"See you up there, Tsuyu!"

"Wait, Samidare-!" the boy was already leaving the empty apartment with Izuku following after him.

"Satsuki, can you do your hair on your own?"

The little girl had a frown on her face as she pouted, taking her hair in her tiny hands.

"I'm tired of doing it on my own ..."

The sight of the little girl sitting there, slowly doing her hair up into a braid made the sister reconsider.

"... Nevermind. I can keep helping you."

"Are … you sure? Don't you have to go after Bro?"

"It's not like he's gone very far. He's also right. It's too early to send you two to school now."

Tsuyu could feel a croak bubble up from the quivering girl in her lap.

"... Thanks, Sis."

* * *

"Tsuyu! Satsuki! Good morning! How was the breakfast?"

The matriarch was quick to greet them as they walked through the unlocked front door. Their brother was sitting near the TV, excitedly watching some cartoons with Izuku.

"The meal was delicious, Mrs. Midoriya! Thank you very much!" bowing, she tried to show her appreciation, with her sister following her shortly after.

"Thank you, Mr. Midoriya!"

"Mrs. Midoriya, Satsuki!"

"That's quite alright!" laughing it off, the older woman didn't seem insulted in the slightest, "I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

"May … may I help you clean up?"

"T-There's not much to help with, but that's very kind of you!"

"Please, Mrs. Midoriya, I won't feel well unless I help you in some way."

Satsuki left her side to join her brother as the mother nervously frowned back.

"U-Um," a little sigh relayed the state of her nerves, "Oh, fine. You can wash the chopsticks." she made way for Tsuyu, who eagerly joined her side and helped her clean up.

"Thank you!"

"Really … you're just like your mother ..."

"My mother-?"

"Yeah, get them, Avengie!" a shout erupted from the living area, as the frog girl's brother was becoming excitable.

"Yes, as I recall, she shared the same … well ..."

"She was pushy?"

"N-Not that I would ever say that about you or her-!"

"It's okay, Mrs. Midoriya. I realize I'm a little bossy." finishing up the chopsticks, Tsuyu discovered that her fellow cleaner had finished her portion before she had, "It's a little hard to see that now, since she's the way she is."

"... Beru mellowed a bit with age, but you remind me of her. She was also the mature one in our little group."

"Is that so?" the two sat down at the dining table, watching the other three as their eyes stayed glued to the TV, "You were childhood friends?"

"Yes, we grew up together! We even went to the same school until she went off to some hero academy, but even then, we stayed in touch for a while, until … um … the "incident" ..."

"That's when she was hurt badly, wasn't it-?"

"Cmon, Izuku! Let us watch the last episode!" "More!"

"Sorry, but I don't have it-" backing away from the two kids, Izuku hurriedly set the disk he had taken from the DVD player back into its case.

"That's a lie! You have everything!"

"He's telling the truth, Samidare." the boy and girl looked confused as they stared at their sister, "I broke the last CD."

"Wh~at?! That's so lame~!" the two flopped down on the floor, disheartened.

"Go downstairs and get your packs."

"Wh~at?!" they were now wiggling around on the floor, refusing to listen to what she had told them, "It's too early!"

"We don't know what the road conditions will be like, so it's better to leave earlier than we usually do."

Grumbling, the two siblings got up to leave, and after they left the apartment, Tsuyu bowed, forming an L shape with her body.

"I'm so very sorry for that."

"N-No, Tsuyu! It's fine, really! I-It's refreshing, actually!" waving her arms frantically, she pleaded with the frog girl, "I mean, Izuku was very different than that! He was always, "I can't wait to see Tsuyu aga-"!"

"W-W-Woah!" nearly shouting, Izuku acted as though a bomb went off in his body, "W-What a-re you sa-saying?!"

"A-And he would a-always wonder if you wa-wanted to come over, but h-he always made a mess h-here! Drawing a "Froppy" character, and m-making stories around her and some other hero!"

Izuku was gasping as if he wasn't able to get any air. His eyes were shaking as badly as his body, standing and staring at his mother.

"S-She's ma-ma-making it up … !" a whisper barely passed through his lips, and his feeble excuse looked as though even he didn't believe it would work.

Tsuyu was surprised at how exact their reactions had been. They were both shaking, staring at each other, and even the redness in their faces was the same. She could even see tears leaking through their eyes, although the mother's had spilled out a little onto her cheeks.

Letting out a small sigh, she attracted their attention.

"... Are you ready to go, Izuku?" noting that the boy was still wearing his night clothes.

"Y-Y-Yes, in a s-second!" rushing to his room, and tripping on his way, he picked himself up, and slammed the door behind him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya, for all of the help. It means a lot to me, and to my family-"

"T-Tsuyu, there's no need to thank me so much!" wiping her face with her sleeve, Izuku's mother tried to give her a smile, "I've always considered your family to be a p-part of mine. Plus, you're way more polite than my son!"

"L-Let's go, Tsuyu!" Izuku's bedroom door shot open, and a green and brown blur grabbed her arm and pulled her to the door, "The k-kids might-!"

"Wait, Izuku!" the mother cried out to the two as Tsuyu stared at Izuku, who was putting his shoes on.

"You forgot your pants!"

* * *

"... Never knew you could be so bol-"

"I-It wasn't on p-purpose!" the boy hid his face with both hands as the two sat on a mostly empty train. The devastation could be seen across their trip, and it gave Tsuyu a surreal feeling, "I-I wonder where e-everyone went?"

"It could be that they want to stay home. There were hardly any kids at Samidare's and Satsuki's school." there was another idea she had, but she didn't want to share it. It would be best to remain hopeful in times like this, "I'm surprised that you haven't replaced that DVD of yours."

"W-What? You mean, Avengie? I … well, you felt really strongly about that episode ..."

"I was also six, Izuku. I didn't think it was a very good ending."

"... Sometimes, there's no other choice, Tsuyu. Avengie's creators wanted to let their audience know that heroes have it rough-"

"Their "audience" is mostly composed of kids. They don't need that sort of depressing conclusion!"

"I thought that the ending was pretty heroic, Tsuyu. Avengie gave her life to protect the good citiz-"

"There must have been a better way, Izuku! She shouldn't have ignored her fellow heroes or the police, simply because of personal reasons!"

"It's … it's like the old, foreign tales of heroes, from ancient times?"

"Ancient times?" he elicited a quizzical look from her, "How far back are we talking?"

"Y-You know … like the foreign legends of gods and heroes? From Europe?" he could see that she didn't really understand, "W-Well … it was a really long time ago. They don't even really talk much about it nowadays ..."

"What about those old tales?"

"W-Well … the gods and heroes were all powerful, capable of things that, well, n-normal … people might be able to do now, but … they all had their flaws. It was to show that even the strongest, greatest beings could make mistakes."

"So, you think that even All Might makes mistakes-?"

"T-Those flaws I mentioned were mostly issues with their personalities, so I don't think All Might would ever-"

"But you just said that "even the strongest, greatest beings could make mistakes", didn't you?"

"W-Well-"

"In Avengie's show, she was also the best and strongest hero, but she was only one person who thought that they could do everything alo-"

"All Might isn't like t-that! Having both strength and experience, he wouldn't make a mistake that would endanger people!"

"Izuku ..." his lips were pursed, in the shape of a frown and she didn't like how adamant he was defending his hero, "... It's not something to get upset over. I … I just didn't want Avengie to die in that show."

"... You're right, Tsuyu." clenching one hand with the other so tight the skin was white, he stared down at them, "It's foolish to think that heroes can be almighty, to be an unstoppable force of good, to be unflappable in the face of true terror-"

"It's" putting one hand on his fists, she could feel him trembling, "not something to get upset over. I'm sorry if I was too aggressive."

"... I suppose it depends on what you would want to define as a "mistake"." she could feel the boy calm down as he took her hand in his, "Many people would see that since he didn't save everyone, he made a mistake, but I see that if he was capable of at least saving one person, doing the best he can to overcome all odds and protect life in any way he can, that would not be a mistake. To make him shoulder the burden of the lives of those he was unable to save would be … would be ..."

"... Izuku?"

"Huh?" snapping out of his mumbling, he finally realized what he was doing, "Wha-?! S-Sorry …!"

Sensing that he was going to pull away, Tsuyu grasped tightly to one of his hands, forcing him to stay where he was.

"Calm down." she had to let go of his hand to slip her arm around his waist, "Let's talk about something else, alright?"

"U-Um … alright. Uh … how are you guys holding up in your apartment?"

Sighing, Tsuyu rested her head on his shoulder, noting the increase in temperature.

"You may have noticed, but there's a few things we need. Like, a table, two more beds, clothes ..."

"I'll help you get some things after school."

"... My pictures … things from when I was younger ..."

"Tsuyu?"

"It's nothing. Nevermind."

* * *

Standing en masse , blocking the gates of the school, was a crowd of people with signs. The slogans written on them confused Tsuyu, who held a blushing Izuku's hand as they walked to the entrance.

"Hey, hey! Who the hell are you two?!" a small group of the people started approaching the two students, prompting them to stop.

"Izuku, let me handle this-"

"Are you heroes?! You've got some explaining to do!" they didn't appear friendly at all to the frog girl.

"We're 1st year students-"

"Where were you when we needed you?!" "Why'd you let the villains attack us?!" "You failed us!"

"W-W-We ar-"

"We aren't heroes, yet. School only started-"

"Every single time! It's been nothing but excuses!" one of the protesters came closer, raising his arm. His skin turning into a dull green.

Something brushed by her, and she thought at first she had been hit, but Tsuyu quickly realized that it had come from her side.

Izuku had grabbed the man's arm, but she couldn't see his face.

"You brat-!"

"What do you know?!" shouting, he was alarmingly hostile to the people who had confronted them, "Trying to attack kids?! Blaming them?!"

"Izuku! Calm down!" grabbing at his side, she tried to move him, but it was extremely difficult to even budge him.

"We were attacked too! It took everything we had just to stay alive!" she could feel his muscles tense up, as if he was going to attack the man.

"At least you're still alive! What's the point in being a hero if you're only strong enough to protect yourself?!"

"We're not heroes! We're like you! Civilians!"

"But you're training to be heroes, aren't you?! This is U.A.! You've let us down-!"

"What's going on here?!" A familiar, gruff voice cut through the crowd like a blade. The group that crowded the two students made way for a man with bandages on his face and arms.

"Mr. Aizawa!" grateful, Tsuyu was able to finally drag her friend over to their teacher.

"Assaulting students on school property?! Do I have to arrest you?!"

The crowd started to disperse. They slowly walked away, and the one that had stepped up to the kids gave them a parting glare.

"Come on, before something like that happens again." Aizawa motioned for them to follow, and they did, seeing the looks the crowd gave them before they passed the gateway.

"Thank you, Mr. Aizawa-"

"Midoriya, were you about to hurt the people out there?" cutting into the thanks they both said, Izuku shivered a bit.

"U-Um … I don't know, to be honest-" his voice was becoming hoarser, no doubt in Tsuyu's head that it was because of his shouting.

"Heroes don't provoke and fight unarmed citizens, Midoriya!"

"It's not completely his fault, Mr. Aizawa. I wasn't able to-"

"And Asui, did you think that you could discuss things with them?"

"... I think that the problem could be resolved through talking-"

"They clearly aren't listening to anything. They've lost many things during the villain attack, and they're all looking for a place to put the blame."

"B-But the heroes did their best to protect what they could! Even All Might fought beyond his lim- fought them off in Tokyo as much as he could!"

"Tokyo was cleared out quickly, but All Might disappeared shortly after that. Some people have lost faith in the great hero, and there's been certain talk, very disturbing talk, concerning our future."

"... What would have been the correct answer, Mr. Aizawa?"

"There is no real answer to something like this. Only different results from your actions. For example, if you had run as fast as you could and jumped over the wall, that would have led to less confrontation."

"... What would you have done, Mr. Aizawa?"

"Nothing!" he gave them a oddly cheerful smile, "I've been here since yesterday! I slept over cause it would have been a pain to leave!"

Tsuyu saw the darkness around his eyes that it wasn't so easy on him as he made it seem.

"Go to the classroom for now! You're the last of my class to show up."

"W-Wait, what about the other classes?"

"Their homeroom teachers should be picking them up from the entrance. The reason I wasn't there earlier was because I was showing Kaminari and Ashido to the classroom."

* * *

"Tsuyu! I'm so happy you're alright!" Tsuyu nearly fell down as a flying hug, courtesy of a very worried Ochako, but since Izuku was behind her, he caught the two reflexively, "I'm so-so-so sorry about not making it to your house!"

Feeling the tears slowly rolling down the other girl's cheek and onto hers, as well as feeling the beginning of a furnace on her back, Tsuyu looked about the classroom.

Instead of sitting in their seats, her classmates were huddled in the center. Many of them appeared shaken, with some exceptions such as Katsuki and Fumikage. In the latter's defense, it was difficult to read his emotions, but the former had the same irritated expression on his face as he sat in his seat.

Nobody was absent, releasing the knot that had been in her stomach since the day started.

"It's Tsuyu and Midoriya!" Tenya announced to his classmates, bringing their attention to the new arrivals.

"Thank goodness you both are alright!" "Tsuyu! So sorry we couldn't make it to your place! The trains were all messed up!"

"It's alright. It was better that you weren't there. My place got destroyed."

"What?!" some of her friends were shocked, although Katsuki only had a slight reaction in his seat, "Are you okay?! Do you have a place to stay?!"

"Yes. To both questions."

"What about you, Midoriya?! I tried contacting you two days ago, but you didn't pick up your phone!"

"S-Sorry, in the area I was in, there was a communications blackout, so to speak ..."

"What are you talking about, Deku? Our area wasn't hit at all!" the explosive boy joined the conversation.

"A-Ah … I wasn't at home. I was at Tsuyu's-"

"He arrived early for the planned party yesterday." said frog girl didn't want there to be any misunderstandings, but it appeared as though it was too late.

"P-Party? Why didn't I get an invite?!" Minoru started glaring at her and Izuku with some level of hate.

"I forgot your number."

"I'll give it to you-!"

"My phone broke."

"How the hell do you contact people then?!"

"I-I let her use mine ..."

"You're not around her all the time though, Midoriya!"

"A-Actually-"

"I don't really need to use a phone at the moment, given that I have to focus on my studies." Tsuyu stared at the boy who was gradually revealing everything.

"... I heard that we might have a lot more studying in the near future."

Like many of the others, Tsuyu looked to Kyouka for elaboration.

"When did you hear this?" a hesitant Denki was the first to ask.

"A few minutes ago-"

"Alright, class, take your seats!" a disgruntled Aizawa pushed past the group that had gathered at the entrance, "I've got some news to share with you all!"

He sighed loudly as the students sat down, and it was obvious there was something wrong.

"Seriously … what was the point of getting all those damn degrees … ?!"

"Mr. Aizawa …?"

"There's been a change in the schedule, kids!" he would have clapped at them, if not for the bandages covering his head and arms, "It's not the choice I would have made, but there's not a lot we can do about it!"

"It … it doesn't involve a lot of studying, does it? I'm no good at that-"

"Ashido, it doesn't matter how good you are at it, you should have been studying anyway! There's been a decision to … focus more on hero activities, such as battle and rescue exercises so that you will have more … as they put it, practical skills."

"Teacher! How would this affect our current lessons?!"

"... As we are focusing more on those practical skills, this means that some subjects have been … reduced to home study."

"Wait … so that means-!"

"That means that all of your general education will mostly be homework and take home tests. There won't be many lessons, if … any lessons that you will take here in school."

The reactions of the class were mixed. Tsuyu could see that some people were overjoyed, but quickly realized that they would have to study at home, which suddenly made them depressed. Katsuki was possibly the only one who had kept an elated mood, due to the introduction of more interesting lessons.

"I-Is this not a school, Mr. Aizawa? What would we gain by cutting down our general education?"

"It's not my decision, Yaoyozoru. It's not even something our principal wanted. In fact, he's probably the one that hates it the most, but with that being said, I put some papers here with your new schedules."

"... The papers aren't there, Mr. Aizawa."

"Really?" taking a closer look, the man sighed loudly again, "Damn. Well, Midoriya! Go to the faculty offices and pick up my papers for me!"

* * *

During lunch time, Tsuyu had excused herself from her friends and walked down a path that seemed to lead to a less crowded area of the school, where she found a woman in a room waiting on the sofa.

"A-Ah! Tsuyu! How nice to see you again!" bearing a bright smile, Lyze Ana shifted in her seat, "I was hoping to speak with you again! Have a seat!"

"Hello, Ana. Have you been well?" taking a seat, Tsuyu sat that the psychiatrist had put some tea down for her.

"Aside from that attack two days ago, I've been fine! I was in one of the safe areas!" the tea was a black tea that had been sweetened, "I take it that you need advice?"

"... I suppose."

"Well, then please begin! I'll do my best to be of some service!"

* * *

"... It seems you've certainly been through a lot since we last talked, Tsuyu."

"I'm sure that my situation isn't among the worst."

"We aren't talking about what other people have gone through, we're talking about you here." Ana scribbled some more notes on her notepad before returning her eyes to Tsuyu, who sat across from her, "With everything that's happened here at U.A., I'd like to know how that's affected you."

"There's not much to say. Given that there's been so many villain attacks," she shuffled a bit on the sofa, trying to find a more comfortable spot, "it's only natural they would … focus more on what we should learn as heroes."

"At the cost of general education?"

"It's not as though they've phased out things such as math or writing skills, but we have to do all that as homework. I think … some people would have issues with that, but I like studying, and maybe my classmates and I will work together on that sort of thing."

"... Okay." she set her notepad down and clasped her hands tightly, pressing them against her knees, "Is … is there anything else you would like to say? This is a place where you're free to discuss your thoughts and feelings."

"... No."

"Is it alright then if I ask a few questions?" the older woman clearly looked nervous, as if her words would scare the frog girl away.

"It depends on the questions, but sure."

"Alright ..." taking a deep breath, the shaky woman steeled her gaze, "How does this affect your … motivation about being a hero?"

"How does it-? You mean, that after all that's happened, do I still want to be a hero?"

"These are things that a hero must face on a day to day basis. It's only natural if you feel-"

"I still want to be a hero. The things that I've faced have only strengthened my determination."

"Even knowing what happened to your mother-?"

"We- I don't know the full story, Ana." she felt a little bad, interrupting the psychiatrist, but the two didn't know what had truly happened to the former hero, "It's unfair to simply say, "something bad happened and everything was terrible". It's possible that there may have been a better way, but we don't know."

"Okay …" a little crestfallen, the woman wanted to continue, "What about Midoriya? How's your relationship with him?"

"What does Izuku have to do with anything?"

"It seems that he has become someone irreplaceable to you, is that not right?"

"... He's a good friend, possibly my best friend."

"What if he were to disappear-?"

"That won't happen." Tsuyu regretted how defensive her tone had become.

"But you're both aiming to be heroes. Heroes … they face a high degree of danger-"

"He's smart enough to know when to retreat."

"... Well … let's move onto another train of thought. How does he affect your … determination towards being a hero?"

"... A long time ago, we promised that we would become heroes. Together."

"So, he was the reason why you wanted-?"

"No. I was determined to be a hero before I met him. My mother inspired me, in that aspect."

"Even if she had become crippled-"

"She's not crippled."

"-incapable of being there for you?"

Tsuyu stared back at the older woman, and saw that the beginning of tears were forming in her eyes.

"... It's okay, Ana. I'm not upset at you." sighing, she felt terrible at making the psychiatrist feel bad.

"I-It's okay. It's my job ..."

"Izuku … I admire him."

"You … admire him?"

"He puts his everything into being a hero. Always thinking of others, he represents what a hero is to me. He's someone that, despite everything against him, does his best."

"What do you mean by, "everything against him"?"

"... Nothing. He had a lot of trouble at first, but he eventually found some courage."

"His quirk isn't suited for being a hero … insane strength at the cost of his body? If anything … I would say he has a desire to be a martyr-"

"That …!" surprised at how loudly she had shouted that, Tsuyu tried to reign her emotions in, "... That will never happen. He realizes how dangerous his quirk is."

Tense, and now with tears slightly creeping out of her eyes, Ana did her best to keep a strong face.

"I … I know that … this m-might be overstepping my bounds a bit ..."

"I … I'm sorry, Ana. I don't know why, but I lost my cool ..."

"It's okay … but I'd like for you to look at this ..." she held out a document, her entire arm shaking.

Taking it, Tsuyu's eyes widened slightly as she saw it was a medical report.

"How did you … ?" it had Izuku's name on it.

"I … do work for U.A., you know, and Recovery Girl had to submit it, since it concerned one of the students … I'm … I've only got your best interests in mind, Tsuyu ..."

"This … is a breach of privacy ..." even though she said that, Tsuyu still read it, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe, "He … said that he had been fine ..."

"He almost died, Tsuyu. In fact, if he wasn't a U.A. student … it's possible he wouldn't be alive."

"This … this is absurd." she set the report on the small coffee table in front of her, next to the empty cup of tea.

"After seeing that, how do you feel about being a hero?"

"Why would that …?"

"I feel, after a couple of conversations, that Izuku might have … well, he might have become an important reason why you would want to become a hero. You said you had a promise?"

"Yes … but I don't see- why are you concerned about why I want to be a hero?"

"... If you saw Midoriya die in front of your eyes- hear me out, please!" she must have noticed some subtle movements that Tsuyu made, in order to interrupt, "If he were to … sustain serious injuries, would you be able to perform the duties of a hero?"

"One of those duties is to assist fellow heroes-"

"Midoriya's life or the lives of civilians, which one is more important?"

"Which one-?"

"Please think about it and answer honestly."

"I …" obviously, the answer was both. It was both, but since she could only choose one, Tsuyu's mind went blank.

"If you're unable to answer that question quickly, then maybe … the hero career-"

"I would never allow that situation to happen in the first place, and why are you so against me being a hero?"

"... It's true, that I'm here to help future heroes settle into the job, but … Tsuyu, the job is … well, it's not a pleasant one. It's not the life of glamour and glory that many of these students think it its. They have to face many terrible choices, and situations that would break them."

"Ana, are you here to help or dissuade people from becoming heroes?"

"I'm here to make sure that the right people aren't broken, Tsuyu. There are plenty of heroes out there that have never faced a tough choice, but with the way things are going … I don't want you to suffer, Tsuyu. Heroes … some people see them as monsters."

"Ana-?"

"They can save some, but even when they do, what if they're not able to save everyone? What if they force the survivors to live in a world without their loved ones, simply because the hero was "too late"? What if they're incapable of helping everyone because they were too busy trying to assist other heroes? Are the survivors supposed to accept the situation, and give thanks to someone who they had trusted to save their loved ones when they've failed? What are they to do after that? Have you given any thought to something so sinister as that? Would you be capable of carrying that stigma?"

"... Ana, it sounds as if… you're not really a psychiatrist ..."

"S-Sorry … it's just that, people don't usually think of what would happen if they were to fail, and they're unprepared when they do … I just want you to think about these things and grow strong enough to make the right decisions. If you continue to be a hero or not, I'll be here to hear you out, okay?"

* * *

With a slight grunt, Izuku was able to pull the futon into the room, following after Tsuyu. She had already set hers up and was waiting for the boy to catch his breath.

"Y-You know … ha … you would think that your parents would buy you guys separate beds ..."

"It must have been out of the hands. They did leave pretty quickly, after all." she could feel his gaze as she set up the bed intended for her sister, "There's only one bedroom, and it's a small apartment."

"... Tsuyu, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." looking back, she saw his concerned look, but she also saw an unset bed next to him, "Put that together, please?"

"Ah, sure!" with nervous hands, he frantically tried to put the frame together and set the box springs in it.

"... After this, we should get to work on our homework."

"Yeah, they sure gave us a lot! A hero at school, and a hero at home, I suppose!"

"You're anything but a hero at home, Izuku. You can't even clean your room."

"I-I can do some things ..."

"Hm … sure." she rested a little. Her siblings were upstairs with Izuku's mother, since they would be having dinner together, "You've got time to learn, Izuku. Many people appreciate such qualities in a man."

"... Do you appreciate-?"

"It's almost time for dinner. We should gather our study materials and head up."

"Sure, but ..." finishing the construction of the bed, Izuku looked at her with worry, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm completely fine, why do you keep asking?"

"O-Oh … no real reason. I … want to make sure that you're happy, since … your parents-"

"What did my father tell you, Izuku?" staring intently at him, Tsuyu wondered why he was being so insistent. They had already gone over the incident and overcame it.

"... He told me to make sure you're happy, Tsuyu. To help you and the kids out."

"... Father entrusted my happiness to you?"

"W-Well, I wouldn't put it that way. He wants me to make sure that if there's anything I could do for you, that I do it."

"... So, this whole time was only because father had asked that of you-?"

"No!" with the sudden reply, Izuku coughed a little, possibly because of the irritation in his throat, "Mm … I did that because … well, I thought it would be the nice thing to do ..."

"It's fine, Izuku." putting a finger to her lips, an idea came to her, "There is something you can do for me."

"Sure, I'll do it." he seemed firm and resolved to do whatever she would ask, even without her saying what it was.

"I'm going to close my eyes ..."

"...A-And?"

"And you can do whatever you want with me."

"W-What kind of re-?!"

"So, you won't do it?"

"I-I-I mean, I'll d-do it."

"Okay." standing up to him and closing her eyes, she wondered what he would do, "You have to do something. You can't just walk away."

"O-Okay ..."

Tsuyu didn't know what the boy would do, but she could tell he was standing in front of her, wringing his hands erratically as he thought of some way to get out of this. It was in his nature, but eventually he would give in.

As he got closer, her thoughts started to get more excited, not really knowing what he would do, but he was too much of a coward to grope her. She would also slap him if he did, but thinking that, she had to add another rule to this game.

"I won't do anything to you if you do something I would normally hit you for." speaking so suddenly had startled the boy.

"I-I wasn't … okay ..."

She felt him moving again. He had been more daring as of late, so it was possible he would do something.

Tsuyu felt hands above her hip and on her side, sending jolts through her body, but she quickly realized that he was going to hug her.

"... I wouldn't have gotten angry if you made a move." she settled in his embrace, and wrapped her arms around his neck. It required her to get up on her toes, but he was helping her by slightly holding her up.

"I'm not Mineta … and it looked like you needed a hug, Tsuyu."

"You're always hugging me … pervert." she breathed in his scent, finding comfort in his warmth.

"... You were going to call me that no matter what."

"Mmm … yeah."

"... We should go upstairs-"

"In a minute." her grip grew tighter, refusing to part from the boy.

"Um ..."

"... Fine ..."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Time for author comments! Ever work hard on something? You know, maybe it takes you hours to write a sentence? I know how you feel!**

 **Especially when you have a finished chapter and it decides to disappear within the hour you want to upload it.**

 **So this is a completely new and different thing than what I had planned! It waaas going to put Tsuyu through heavy shit, but you guys get this instead! Lucky you!**

 **Lesson for all: Save immediately when you start something or it might not remember who or what it was and it'll disappear.**

 **There might be inconsistencies, given that I DID have another chapter written up and some of this might reference that GONE chapter. Let me know and I'll try to fix it!**

 **EDIT (02/15/17): Happy V-Week, for those who celebrate Valentines (** _frigging normies lol_ **) Day! I replaced the whole scene where Tsuyu fights Todoroki. I did want them to meet, but then again, the original chapter didn't have them meeting. Instead, I replaced it with something that WAS in the original chapter. In fact, from the Todoroki fight to when Tsuyu talks with Ana a second time, I changed everything in between! All that stuff isn't as good as the one I lost, but it might be a little better(?)! Hope it is! If there are any inconsistencies, since I did replace a lot of stuff, let me know and I'll fix it!  
**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

"Oh, Tsuyu! It's so nice to see you! Even if it early in the morning!" as always, her room was colder than the outside and she was sitting in the same place she always did.

"I thought we didn't get to discuss everything that's happened so far." taking a seat, she noted that the woman was a little happier than she had looked before.

"Well, let us try then! Before class starts! … Tea?"

"Yes, please." a cup of the tea was placed on the table in front of her, piping hot and when she reached for it, she noticed a new addition.

"Ah, you got some flowers?"

"Yes! I'm glad you noticed!" Ana motioned towards flowers that sat on the table, "I thought this drab, beige-ish room could do with a bit of color!"

The yellow and purple flowers sat in a purple vase. The vase itself had a black, gothic design on it, which Tsuyu found to be a strange decoration in a place meant to calm people down.

"So, what would you like to talk about first?" the older lady prepared a notepad while Tsuyu sipped the tea.

"... I've still been thinking about what you said about Izuku. About how he plays an important element in my motivation to be a hero?"

"Yes, I believe that the boy holds a special meaning to you. Maybe … even more than being a best friend?"

"We're friends. We're close friends, but I don't see what you're getting at."

"I can't imagine how you feel about it, especially after getting through such harrowing situations with him! Fighting against villains, surviving impossible odds-!"

"That doesn't necessarily mean I would fall in love with him. That would be ridiculous."

"... Perhaps! But, that's not really what I was getting at, and besides, you could have developed feelings for him long before any of this began."

"... Yes, that's possible. I won't deny any objectivity, but that sort of thing is dangerous at this point in our lives, and I don't think we're at the right point in our lives to be thinking of that kind of foolishness."

"... Right … you might have developed a certain … fear, or trauma, after all that's happened. Is there anything you feel uncomfortable doing or have you noticed a change in your personality?"

"I … well, there's something that I've been avoiding ..."

"What is it?"

"... I don't know if I can punish- nevermind."

"No, please, it's okay! This is, after all, a place where it's okay to share anything! I-If you feel as though your sexual relationship with Mido-"

"I don't have such a thing."

"Okay, well, disregarding the vibes of disappointment I'm receiving from you right now, what kind of changes have you noticed?"

"... Izuku … he seems more defensive ..."

"In a good way or …?"

"... He yelled at some of the protesters in front of the school. I think that one of them was about to use their quirk on us and he stopped the guy and started yelling at them. He said that we had gone through troubles ourselves and that we weren't prepared to deal with villains for the sake of others."

"That's obvious! Anyone who wants children to fight for them deserves death!"

"... What-?"

"They have a right to protest, but it's irresponsible to think that heroes can solve everything! You're only students, anyway!" Ana continued, but Tsuyu wasn't sure if she had heard the woman right.

"I thought you didn't like heroes, Ana?"

"When did I say that?"

"I … well, you never said it, I just thought ..."

"My feelings towards heroes … it's complicated. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for heroes, but at the same time … well, I can only say that it really is complicated."

"Did you … know a hero before?"

"Yes, very briefly in the past. The very … symbol of strength and power, but at the same time, he's the one that I have the most unusual relations with." her tone was sharp, but her eyes were moist.

"... Would you like to talk about-?"

"We're here for you, Tsuyu!" with a sigh, Ana returned a smile, "What I was trying to say before, was that the boy has a predisposition to life threatening injuries. This might have made you change the way you act around him, and potentially, it could change your relationship."

"... In what way?"

"Well, that depends. It could be nothing, just a slight change, but soon, you might never see him again-"

"What do you mean by that, Ana?"

"O-Oh, nothing! Really! I only m-meant that … you might not hang out anymore. You might drift towards someone else, and he might do the same."

"... He's allowed to choose his friends, Ana. I won't … stand in his way."

"Yes, but will he survive long enough to be able to make those choices?"

"You sound like you know something's going to happen. Would you mind sharing?"

"W-Well, I can't merely share information with a student! N-Now you better get to class! It's about to start without you!"

* * *

Tsuyu avoided the spray of clear liquid, her feet skidding against the dirt as she stared at her opponent.

"Oh! Those were some nice movements, Tsuyu!" Mina grinned happily at the frog girl.

English period had been replaced by combat practice, where they would compete against their fellow classmates, and possibly their seniors. They were told to choose someone to spar with someone sitting next to them, and not wanting to go up against Eijirou or Tenya, Tsuyu had chosen Mina.

"Ah! But be careful, Tsuyu! It's not strong enough to burn, but~!" a pink finger was pointed at her, and the frog girl saw steam rising up in front of her eyes. Glancing at her body, she could already see parts of it were tearing away.

"... Shouldn't this be against the rules?"

"The only rules were to subdue your opponent or force them to surrender!" she didn't like the glint in the pink girl's eyes, "Now then … are you ready to be stripped bare, Tsu~yu, or will you give up! All you have to do is say "Oh, Mina~! I give in! Do what you will~"!"

She would have rather fought Tenya.

"... I don't know which one is more humiliating."

"Then prepare yourself... !" throwing her arm towards Tsuyu, Mina charged forward.

Tsuyu could easily see the tiny drops that flew through the air, but it could easily be a distraction. Either way, one of her escapes was blocked off.

Her assumption that it was a feint was correct. Clear fluid spilled from Mina's hands, and the girl slid upon it to slide to Tsuyu's exposed side.

A little hop should have been enough to escape, as Tsuyu flew above her opponent's head, but Mina squatted down, and jumped into a back flip, nearly reaching the airborne frog girl.

The pink girl smiled as she brought her arms up, sending more of her acid Tsuyu's way.

Landing, Tsuyu disliked how the tiniest drop of acid could destroy her wetsuit.

"Looking good there, Tsuyu!" whistling annoyingly, her friend taunted her.

It wasn't looking good from Tsuyu's perspective. She had already discovered a frontal assault would be more damaging to her than it would be to Mina. The girl was too agile, and her reflexes were inhuman. The trade-off wasn't worth it.

"Let's finish this-!"

"What the hell?" Mina came to a sudden stop as their spar was interrupted.

"... Hey, Katsuki."

The boy looked at her for a moment before an annoyingly violent grin wrapped around his face.

"What's the matter, Asui?! Are things getting too rough for you?! Do you need my help-?!"

"Hey, lay off of Tsuyu! It's not her fault I'm so strong!"

"Eh?! What did you say, Pinkie-?!"

"What did you want, Katsuki? If you don't want us to take too long, then maybe you should go back?"

"... Whatever! Hey, Asui!" he pointed off, beyond the buildings and where he had come from, "I fought over there! Consider it … a favor!" and with that, the boy walked off, and Tsuyu was sure he still had that awful smile.

"What does he mean by that-? Whatever! Let's continue, Tsu-yu?!"

Before, the frog girl had been holding back on the power, but now that she was trying for a new scene, she bounced between the buildings.

She only hoped that it would help out.

* * *

The area was littered with craters as well as some frozen sections. Katsuki didn't have any major injuries, given that his costume looked in better shape than hers. There were bits of ice that covered the area, so she assumed that the explosive boy had fought Todoroki, a boy she had not had the pleasure of meeting yet.

It did make her question why he was fighting the mysterious boy, considering Todoroki was at least three seats away from Katsuki, but she could guess why.

Nobody wanted to spar with the volatile teen.

Tsuyu had her choice of cover, so she chose an area filled with debris. It was a tight fit, but she managed to squeeze through the rocks. She also made sure she had an escape route if she was found.

"Tsu~yu!" she could see her friend through the cracks, "Come out, come out, Tsuyu~! I can't wait …! It's stripping time …!"

Mina was starting to scare her, but she assumed it was an act. At least, she hoped it was.

The pink girl turned away. As her tongue slipped around her opponent, she removed her glove.

Her tongue tapped Mina's shoulder and a torrent of acid flooded the wrong area. A bit of it hit her tongue, and an acrid, peachy taste made her cringe, but she didn't hesitate.

The pink appendage wrapped around her opponent's leg, tripping her, and at the same time, launched Tsuyu forward.

She could see Mina's eyes widen, her pupils shrinking as she struggled to get an accurate aim on the frog girl as Tsuyu's uncovered hand shot towards the pink girl's head.

* * *

"... The end!"

"What?!" "Pfftt …!"

Ochako struggled to breathe as much as Izuku tried to help her. Tenya was sitting at Tsuyu's side, staring at her in surprise.

"What do you mean, "The end!", Tsuyu! Who won the match?!"

"That's … a secret."

"Wait, Tsuyu … you lost?"

"You're only interested in knowing if I was walking around naked, Izuku."

"N-No! I-I just can't believe it!" rubbing his head, he stared down at his tray.

"... You going to eat that?"

"Huh? Oh, no. You can have it, Tsuyu."

"Hey, Iida! It really was quite the match we had!" the bubbly girl enthused in her seat.

"I agree! You seem to be adapting better to using your quirk for longer periods of time!"

"You should eat. It's not good to skip meals, especially now of all times."

"No, I … I had to fight Mineta, and I lost my appetite ..."

"Ah! The pervert! How'd that go, Deku?!" Tsuyu grit her teeth at the mention of the forbidden word, but endured.

"I'd … rather not talk about it ..."

"Surely it's just as great a story as Tsuyu's! Please, tell us!"

"...Erg ..." his eyes plead to her for help.

"... Feed me."

"Eh?" the three looked at the frog girl.

"You said I could have your food, and well, you might want some of it left … so, feed me." closing her eyes, she slightly opened her mouth, "Ah~"

"T-Tsuyu …!" it had the expected effect on Izuku, and she could tell that he was shaking through the table.

"Whoa … Tsuyu! Your mouth is so-!"

"I-Indecent! You should know better, Tsuyu! This is a school!" and Tenya was the same as always, but at least he was predictable.

"Hey, hey! Feed me too, Deku!"

Worry was building in the frog girl. She couldn't see anything, and it felt awkward just to ask the boy, but for her to be left alone like this was growing unbearable.

Something was shoved against her lips, and she could feel some grease drip down her chin. Savory, succulent, fried hamburger mixed with soy sauce shot through her tongue. She knew her friend liked salty things, but it was a little too much, causing her to back up a little and tears started to well up from her eyes.

The boy must have been too nervous to notice as he continued pushing, forcing it past her lips into her mouth. In slight protest, her tongue coiled around his chopsticks and his fingers, and as his hand retreated, her tongue had scraped off both the oil from the meat and the sweat from his fingers.

She swallowed, due to reflex and surprise.

"... Wow … watching you eat his meat was-"

"U-Unacceptable! F-From all of you!" from the sound of it, Tenya slammed his hands on the table, "What are you doing?! Really?!"

Opening her eyes, Tsuyu saw that Izuku was stock still, staring at her, with his hand and his face glowing a bright red.

"Hey, do me next!" Ochako cutely opened her mouth as she latched onto Izuku's arm, "Ah~!"

"More~!" before his eyes could move to the bright girl next to him, Tsuyu opened her mouth again, letting out a tiny croak.

Something pink came up the boy's side.

"Hey! Whatcha-!"

Tears burst from Izuku's eyes, before they rolled up to his forehead and slumped over to Ochako's side, who in surprise, caught the boy from falling backwards.

"Ah! I-Is he okay?!" Mina, the pink thing, fussed over the fallen boy, who had his head resting on a blushing Ochako's shoulder.

"He's fine."

"A-Are you sure, Ts-?"

"He's ..." letting out a sigh, Tsuyu stared as Izuku's tears poured out onto their friend, "... fine."

"... Sorry, Tsuyu ..." Ochako muttered as Mina took a seat.

"What for? There's nothing to be sorry about."

"He's awfully red, are you sure?" even their class president was worried, although there was no reason to be.

"I couldn't imagine him being any better than right now."

Mina paused from fussing over Izuku to glance at Tsuyu.

"... Hey, you're close with Midoriya, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"How close?" a sly grin started to cross Mina's face. A grin that Tsuyu didn't want to see at the moment.

"What are you getting at?"

"H-Hey, M-Mina!" it was hard for Ochako to speak, since balancing Izuku was so troublesome, "What are you doing? Don't bother Tsuyu-"

"There's only been some talk about you and Midoriya! Especially among girls!" the pink girl either willfully ignored Ochako or had very selective hearing.

"... What kind of talk?"

"Er … should I leave?" Tenya, now noticing there was no room for him in the conversation, was stuck on the sidelines.

"Oh, you know … that you're dating!" squeeing in delight, Mina shook in place.

"I haven't heard anything, so I don't know-"

"Um … I've also ..." the bright girl sitting next to Mina paused as the boy on her shoulder slipped, his head falling against her chest. She let out a quiet exclamation, using her opposite hand to reposition his head, and blushing all the while, used the hand on the side Izuku was on to hold his head to her shoulder.

"Hey, you're staring pretty intensely at Ochako-!"

"No, I'm not."

"I-I've heard things as well, Tsuyu ..."

"Tenya, Izuku might need to go to the nurse. It seems his head is a little heavy."

"Y-Yes! Right away! I'll take Midoriya to Recovery Girl!" announcing his plans, he stood up, hurried over to the other side, and tried to assist Ochako in handing over the unconscious boy.

"Boo! I figured it'd be easier to get answers out of Midoriya!" they watched as their class president made his way from the table, carrying Izuku on his back.

"There's already an answer for you. We're not dating."

"But you're always together!"

"All of us are always together." Tsuyu motioned over to Ochako, who was still blushing a little.

"I-I wouldn't know about anything like that ..."

"Eh? Hey, it wouldn't happen to be that you like Midoriya, right?!" Mina then clung to the blushing girl.

"Eh?! N-No! Not at all! I d-don't want to … you know ..." her eyes were bouncing between Tsuyu and Mina, "N-Not that there's anything wrong with De- I mean, towards Tsuyu I'm- oh …!"

"Stop harassing Ochako, Mina."

"Ehehe … it's so fun though!"

* * *

Izuku was back to normal by the start of the next period, Quirk Strengthening.

It took her some pondering, and even then she couldn't come up with anything. Tsuyu didn't have enough experience to know what she was lacking. Of course, she knew that her combat skills weren't close to that of someone like Katsuki, but at the very least, she was plenty capable of taking on anyone by surprise.

There was the other part of her, the part she didn't want to recognize. Thinking about it, however, was something she didn't wish to do at the time, so instead of focusing solely on her quirk, she wanted to see how the boy who had inherited a quirk was doing.

Whereas everyone else was directed to specific areas, where they could develop their quirks further, Izuku was relegated to lifting weights in a separate room.

There, she found him doing squats, dressed in short sleeves and shorts, in a room filled with weights.

She watched him complete twenty, before he took a bar out from the side, and laying down on one of the benches, he brought the bar over his head. It didn't seem satisfactory, since he set the bar down on the ground, got up, and put some weights on the ends of it. After that, he laid back down on the bench, and lifted the bar over his head.

He was shaking with visible effort as he tried to complete one repetition. Tsuyu thought he would stop, but even as it looked like he was going to drop the bar on his head, he kept going.

"Izuku!" calling out after he didn't have the weights in a dangerous location, she watched him drop the bar in surprise.

"T-Tsuyu! How long have you been there?!"

"Long enough to see you almost hurt yourself." walking over to him, he seemed embarrassed.

"... T-That's because you surprised me."

"No, it's because you're using too much weight. You're supposed to lift in sets, and at that rate, you won't even complete one."

"... I was going for ten-"

"You were at four."

"... Okay, maybe I was trying too hard."

"You have time, don't worry." patting his head, she could see the boy pouting, even as he slowly turned a little red.

"...W-Why are you here?"

"I thought I'd lift some weights with you. I'm … a little out of ideas on enhancing my Frog Form."

"Don't you just think of what you want to do, and your body adjusts?"

"It's more difficult than that, Izuku. For my poisons, I ingested sleeping pills and-"

"W-Wait! You did-?!"

"Now, now ..." before he could rise from the bench, she set him back down, "I don't really get how my body works, especially as of late. It could be that have to feel a certain way in order to develop my Frog Form more. I don't know if the pills worked, but it's possible that feeling incredibly sleepy and wanting a sleeping poison is what led about to my current situation."

"... As of late? Why, did something-?"

"Let's lift weights, Izuku, or else we'll run out of time." stopping him short, she took off some of the weights on the bar, "You were at four, remember? Try for ten."

* * *

It had proceeded as she thought it would. For bench presses, he could lift a little over 200 lbs, which she thought was amazing, but they had to increase the weight to 250 lbs for her.

For squats, she could hold over 600 lbs. They couldn't put more weight on and she attributed her strength due to her legs, but he could only go up to under 300 lbs. It had frightened her, thinking that if she had fallen, there would be no way for Izuku to get away unscathed, but luckily, she completed her set, although she was tired.

Time was getting short. Fifty minutes isn't long enough for weight training, and Tsuyu knew that Izuku realized that as well.

"You did good, Izuku!" she had suggested they rest before the end of the period, and so they sat on one of the benches.

"... Yeah, I guess ..."

"Did … I do good?"

"... You were very good, b-but I'm … well, I can't really say-"

She didn't want to hear him depreciate himself, so resting her head on his shoulder quieted him nicely. Tsuyu hoped her sweat wouldn't bother him, but judging by the way he was warming up, he didn't mind too much.

"Y-You said that you were having trouble with your quirk?"

"...Something like that."

"Is it … something to do with your body?"

"... You want to talk about my body-?"

"J-Just your quirk, Tsuyu."

Grimacing, she looked at her hand before she reluctantly showed Izuku.

Black veins started to form on her skin, poking through like tiny needles.

"Is that-?"

"It's … something I've been trying to wrap my head around. I don't know what it does, or what effects it has on- wait! Don't touch-!"

A massive amount of information, far more than she had gotten from herself flooded her mind, and it was almost enough to knock her out, but the flow was cut off when Izuku pulled away.

Information was replaced by pain, and she heard her friend gasped as she was overwhelmed.

"Tsuyu! You're bleeding ...!" it didn't take long for her to lose consciousness after that.

* * *

The next thing Tsuyu saw was a white ceiling. She felt a lot better than she had before she had succumbed to the pain.

"T-Tsuyu!"

"Ah, girlie! You're awake!"

To her side, falling out of his chair and stumbling to her side was Izuku. The other voice belonged to Recovery Girl, but she wasn't in sight.

"... What happened?"

"I'm so sorry, Tsuyu! It's all my-!"

"Quit blubbering, boy!" the nurse must have been behind Izuku, as the boy was knocked aside and when Tsuyu sat up, she could see the older woman, "You're a man, ain'tcha? Act like one!"

"S-Sorry ..."

"And girlie, I don't know what was wrong, aside from a little dehydration and the cuts on your hand."

Looking at said appendage, she could see it had healed up nicely. There was no terrible pain or blinding knowledge running through her head.

"Training accident." she glanced towards the boy, who was slightly crying at his friend's awakening.

"... Alright then, I'll leave you two alone for a bit. I need to turn in some paperwork." with a wink, the former hero left the room, leaving her with a stuttering and distraught Izuku.

"I-It's completely my fault, I .. I didn't think-"

"It's fine. How long was I out?"

"Um … school's over."

"... Oh well. What did we cover in class today?"

"Just more physical exercises and rescue concepts. They say we're not ready for any sort of real world exercises or simulations with real heroes, yet."

"Hey, Izuku?" he gave her his attention, "Do you think we're going too fast?"

"... I think that they're trying to adapt to these new villain attacks. It's not that the initial ones had a large number of fatalities, but the attacks have emboldened others to commit crimes as well. I hear that many of the heroes are scrambling to deal with them, and they're even firing heroes."

"Firing? Don't they need all the hands they can get?"

"They're … cracking down on some of the heroes that got the hero license in a way that allowed them to not … they weren't being heroes, so ..."

Sighing, she laid back down onto the bed. She could hear fidgeting beside her.

"I-Is there anything I could do for you?"

"... Do what you want."

"In t-that case, could you show me those things again?"

Twisting, she gave him a glance.

"I-I promise I won't touch them this time, or pull back so suddenly!"

"... Fine." it wouldn't hurt to let him see, and he was the repentant type, or at least, she had seen him try to learn from his mistakes.

As she sat up, the veins showed up clearly against the pale skin on her hand, and the boy looked at them in wonder.

"... To think, there was more of your quirk than we had thought ..."

"Yes, but you recognize it, don't you?"

"... Oh! This was that villain's quirk-!" with a start, he put his hands down on her thighs, "Wait, Tsuyu! This … this doesn't mean anything!"

"I suppose it doesn't, but I wonder why it appeared now? Was contact with him a trigger, and if so, is there more?"

"... At the very least, I think you should test it, Tsuyu."

Looking at Izuku, she could tell that he was uneasy.

"It is a part of me, so you're not wrong ..."

"... But that villain also has it."

"Yeah ..."

It didn't feel right, to be constantly reminded of that horrible man. She had seen first hand at what it could do. She had felt how it could change someone.

It felt like living in a nightmare. It felt like she had been changed so easily, as if he pressed a button and she was molded in an image of his desire.

It was revolting. It was disgusting, and yet, it was part of her. By association, it was possible that she herself was-

Something soft pressed against her cheek, and regaining her senses, Tsuyu noticed that all she could see was Izuku's face.

It didn't take any time at all to comprehend what he had done.

"S-Sorry, Tsuyu." she shrunk, her head drooping down to look at the blankets.

She didn't know why he did it. She couldn't read his mind, and she didn't know if he understood what she was.

"... Why?"

Instead of answering that key question, he wrapped his arms around her head and cradled it against his chest.

"W-hy?" as the unwanted croak warped her words, she felt that he was making this incredibly difficult.

"... I don't need a reason to comfort a friend, Tsuyu."

"It's-"

"You're the one that's thinking too much, this time."

"... It is what it is, isn't it?"

"What "it" is, Tsuyu, is you. That man, whoever he is ... doesn't matter. This quirk of yours doesn't change who you are." she grabbed his arms, as he continued to rested his chin on her head, "He doesn't own this quirk ... and he doesn't own you! Tsuyu ... you're-"

"Get a room if you're going to get busy!"

Izuku almost jumped completely away from Tsuyu in surprise, but she had him held down.

"R-Recovery Girl!"

"This is the Nurse's office, kiddies! There's a special place you can go to for that, when you're older!"

"W-W-We're not ...!"

Tsuyu sighed as she let the boy go, and he tried to defend them against the hero's accusations.

* * *

"W-What?! Two visits in one day?! I must have been especially good as of late!"

"He kissed me, Ana." she didn't wait for the woman to offer her a seat or tea, "I … I was in a rough spot, and he thought that would help me."

"... Where is he right now?"

"I sent him to go get the kids. I said I wanted to meet with Mr. Aizawa to learn what I had missed."

"... I see. Is that what you came here to tell me?"

"Yes. I … I don't know if these feelings I have are healthy ..." back then, she had panicked, but even now it had an effect on her.

"... Of course it's unhealthy. I mean, looking from a physical standpoint, it's perfectly healthy. You're a growing girl, but your future plans might be affected by such things."

"That's what I've worried about this whole time … I was afraid that … that I would get in his way ..."

"Nonsense! Haven't you been helping him out this entire time?"

"... What do you mean by that?"

"I'm assuming he didn't mind kissing a girl such as yourself, Tsuyu!" Ana's smile seemed a little strange to the frog girl. It looked like it was forced, but it was hard to tell as she had never really seen the woman without one, "But do you mind answering something for me, Tsuyu?"

"... No, I don't mind."

"Assuming that Midoriya was killed horribly-"

"What kind of question are you trying to ask me?!"

"Oh, nothing really ..." the smile was now becoming terrifying to Tsuyu, "... I was just wondering how long you would last if he was to die at such a young age ..."

"... Are … are you referring to when you asked me about Izuku being a hero?"

"He is such an odd boy, isn't he? Always rushing off, on his own, becoming so terribly mangled it's hard to tell him from a corpse, ah, judging by some of the photos I've seen."

"... There have been times where there was no other choice in his eyes, or that the situation forced his hand, but … Ana, I do have something to say to you."

"Really? May I have the pleasure of hearing it?"

"... I … Izuku has wanted to be a hero since he was five."

"Yes, I believe you had mentioned that-"

"No, I didn't, but … I've had nightmares."

"... Nightmares?"

"When I would wake up, I would call him, hoping he was okay. I would scream, mad with worry because I couldn't stand the thought of him getting hurt. I'll even admit it now, that I still have them."

"Wouldn't it be better to just tell him to quit-?"

"Never! I … I've thought about it, but I've never given up on him, Ana. Even if it leads to his death … even if it hurts so much that I might just die as well … I have not, and will not give up on Izuku!"

It was the first time she had seen the psychiatrist's smile drop, and it felt as though the temperature had fallen with it as the woman gave her a look that was between disappointment and sadness.

"... I see. I … I thought that you might have been different, Tsuyu, but I just can't fathom why you would let your loved one put himself in this sort of danger."

"It's not as though I like it, Ana, but he's not the type that would be dissuaded from being a hero. He … he would save people even if it meant becoming a vigilante. Being a hero is only easier."

"... I'm sorry, but could you leave, Tsuyu?" with that frown on her face, Ana didn't face the girl, "I need to prepare for tomorrow."

* * *

Tsuyu waited outside her apartment. After getting home, she and Izuku had gone shopping for more furniture for the house. They had managed to procure a table, some chairs, and even a TV for their place. She had worried about funds, especially since she didn't have a job, but Mrs. Midoriya had told her that she would foot the bill, giving Tsuyu another reason to grieve. The girl wasn't even allowed to change her mind, since the mother had ordered her to go get more things, or else she wouldn't forgive Tsuyu if she didn't try to make her siblings' lives more comfortable.

"Hey! Thanks for waiting!" Izuku ran down the stairs to her. He had left suddenly, saying there was something he needed to do.

"No problem, but you better be ready to do homework for the rest of the night." the two had decided to study on their own, not wanting to let their new curriculum hinder their education.

"Y-Yeah, well, I remembered something the other day and thought that … well, here ..." he held out a small package.

Not knowing why he was so nervous, she took it and opened it.

"Wait-!" in surprise, she pulled the contents out.

"I mean, you mentioned it … and I can't do anything about that other stuff, but ..."

They were pictures. Of them when they were younger.

"These are the originals …!"

"I-I didn't really have time to make copies, so-"

"... You fool ...!"

"E-Eh?!" shocked, he wasn't prepared when she glomped the poor boy.

"... I'm the one who's supposed to be worrying about you, Izuku!" she nuzzled his chest with her head, and soon after, she felt his hands rest on her head and her back.

"We can't both worry about each other?"

She sniffed, letting out the tiniest warble she could manage.

"... Thank you, for today."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! I'll try editing this chapter a bit, so it might change!**

 **Oh, the ending. Well, if people don't like it because it feels a little weird, maybe I'll make it a horrible ending or something. By that, well, you might understand what I mean by that.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Had a lot of trouble, but I eventually decided that I can't keep making a chapter about every day, so you might notice a time skip, or that it just skips time throughout this chapter. It might be too confusing, so I might have to edit it out.  
**

 **Actually, a lot of this chapter might be confusing. I rewrote this several times, and I think I just took parts I liked and strung them together. That's a pain, for everyone here, so that also might get edited to be better.**

 **I do not own My Hero Academia as it belongs to** **Kōhei Horikoshi and whomever else owns it.**

* * *

"Terror of a continuation of the terrorist attacks a few weeks ago continue, despite police and hero association reports that there won't be another attack to happen again. We are here now with local hero, KinetiCoil." the reporter held the mic out to the hero, "Sir, would you say a few words for our audience?"

"Reconstruction efforts are still ongoing as we all recover from the villain attack that struck all over Japan. It is in these trying times that we remember our loved ones, our neighbors, and those that we have lost, so that we can continue-!"

With a click, the small TV shut down as Tsuyu frowned at the early morning news.

"Hey, Sis?" the little girl peeped into the room from the hallway, "The guy on the TV said that our house is being made again?" she must have been listening to the report, silently standing out of sight in her pajamas.

"... It is."

"Then can we go back?" her face became tense as her tiny hands gripped the corner of the wall, "I like it here … but I wanna go back and live with mommy and daddy."

"I'm sorry, Satsuki." after the apology left her lips, she became quiet. Staring at her sister sadly, there wasn't an answer she wanted to give.

Her little sister winced and made her way to Tsuyu's side to cling to her skirt.

"... It's okay, Sis. Even if mommy and daddy aren't here, you, Izuku, and Ms. Midoriya are here, so I don't feel lonely."

Their parents still haven't been able to get into contact with them after all this time. It only made Tsuyu fear for the worst.

"They love you, Satsuki, just as much as I love you, just as much as Samidare loves you … and just as much as the Midoriyas love you." she hugged her sister, "Now, how about we go get some breakfast? I'm sure that Mrs. Midoriya has something already planned." she put an emphasis on the "Mrs.", hoping Satsuki would notice.

"Mm … I hope it's eggs!" sadly, it passed over her sister's head as she pulled back, smiling widely, letting out a happy croak.

* * *

Satsuki squirmed as they waited at the light. Her hand was sweaty as Tsuyu held it. The little girl must have been nervous by being surrounded by so many people.

The signal to walk appeared, and the wave of people started flowing forward. Tsuyu held tightly to her sister's hand as they, along with Izuku, walked across.

"Sis …! Why're there so many-?"

"It's because their homes were destroyed, like ours." she didn't find it pleasant to be speaking about the strangers around her, but she wouldn't ignore Satsuki, "It might be like this for a long time, or maybe no time at all."

* * *

"Oh …? Wait! Isn't that-?! It is!" an older woman that was familiar to Tsuyu met them at the entrance, "It's little Tsuyu and Izuku!"

"It's nice to see you again, Ms. Hikoko!" greeting the caretaker, Tsuyu motioned to her sister, "This is Satsuki. She's going to be transferring here."

"Oh, is that so?! It's nice to meet you, Satsuki!"

"Nice to meet you, Hikuko-"

"Ms. Hikoko, Satsuki!"

"Fufufu … how nostalgic! I remember when you used to scold Izuku here for all sorts of things!" she smiled at the shaking boy, as he managed to mutter his own greeting.

"Please behave yourself. Our place is close enough to walk home, but if you want to wait here for us to pick you up, that's fine."

"... I'll wait." the frog girl was about to leave when she felt a tiny pull on her sleeve.

"S-Sis?" she could already tell it was going to be difficult, given the croak, "What about my friends?"

"... Unfortunately, your old school was unable to function because it was too damaged. Your friends will probably go to another school."

"... Will I ever see them again ...?"

"... I'm so-" "Of course you will!"

"Izuku!"

"Don't worry, Satsuki!" the boy ignored her stare and knelt down, setting a hand on Satsuki's shoulder, "You'll see them again! It's just that … for now, you'll have to wait a bit, so try to make some new friends here!"

"I … I don't want new friends, I want my old ones ..."

"Oh, don't worry, dear!" Ms. Hikoko tried to comfort the girl, "Everyone here understands what you're going through, and they'll want to be your friend too! Doesn't that sound nice?"

The little girl looked around the school area, and to the teacher, "I guess ..."

"We need to get going, Satsuki."

Seeing the frightened look in her eyes, Tsuyu knelt down for her sister, and she hugged her tightly. Pulling away, her sister turned to the boy, who at first was confused until he also gave her a hug.

"It's very nice to see you two doing well." Ms. Hikoko took Satsuki's hand in hers, "Don't worry! We'll treat your daughter well!"

"W-Wait! She's not-!"

"Don't get so flustered, Izuku! I know that she's Tsuyu's sister!" the teacher laughed at the stuttering boy, "I'm sorry! I couldn't help myself! It's been a while, but I still can't get enough of teasing the both of you!"

The teacher led Satsuki away, and the students started walking to the train station.

"Really … it really only feels like I'm the only one getting teased ..."

"Don't worry, Izuku, one day you won't be teased like that again."

"That day won't come soon, will it?"

"I'd be able to let you know nine months in advance when that day would come."

They walked for a bit before she saw him visibly pale and stare at her with wide eyes.

"... What are you talking about?"

"It was nice to see Ms. Hikoko again after all this time." she pretended to not hear him.

"Hey, you didn't-"

"Did you remember her at first, or were you struggling?"

"E-Eh … I … I didn't really remember her name, so ..." finally distracted, he turned red in embarrassment.

Sighing, she received a glance from her friend.

"You can remember every detail of some obscure hero, but you can't remember the name of one of your first teachers?"

"I-It's not like I didn't remember her, I just couldn't-!"

"You're really something, Izuku ..."

"I … I'm sorry ..."

"Don't apologize, since everything was obvious from the beginning."

"You mean …?"

"She knew you forgot her name." she couldn't help but feel a little amused from how hard he took that piece of news.

* * *

The train was stuffed, but there was a seat available to one of them. Insisting, Tsuyu had tried to sit Izuku down into it, but he pressured her by stating that he would be far more embarrassed to be seen sitting while she was standing.

In the end, neither one got a seat and they had to stand. She was being pressed against the window, which may have been more preferable to Izuku's position, which was between her and the other passengers.

Trying to escape her current situation by viewing the scenery, she saw that there were reconstruction efforts underway, and a few familiar heroes were busy repairing the damaged areas.

There were many others that were helping out in any way they could, but it was hard to see any specific action since the train was going so fast, and Izuku was rubbing against her in a distracting way.

* * *

"Would you like to volunteer?" stepping off the train hurriedly, dragging Izuku with her, Tsuyu managed to find an area without a stampede threatening to overtake them.

"I think someone was touchin- what was that?"

"I think it might be a good idea to volunteer, to help repair the cities."

"What about the kids?"

"They might agree to help out as well."

"And our studies?"

"It wouldn't take all day, Izuku. We can help out for an hour or two."

"... Yeah, that sounds good to me then! Should we ask Mr. Aizawa about it?"

"Hm … it doesn't seem like something he would do, unless he would be able to rest while we gain valuable experience in rebuilding damaged areas."

"It's because it's off school grounds, isn't it?"

"Too much trouble, he might say. What I would say is that, rationally, it's a good idea."

"Alright then! Let's ask him about it." they started walking to school, but she noticed that the boy was walking weirdly.

"What's wrong?"

"I … I just don't feel right. I think someone was touching me on the train ...

"You'll be okay."

"... Shouldn't you be more worried? I don't know if I'd like it if someone was touching you-"

"It was me."

"... Eh?" stopping, he stared in shock at her.

"What's wrong?" tilting her head, Tsuyu put a finger to her lips, acting confused.

"I-I mean, um ..."

"Didn't you get your fill of touching me?"

"T-T-That's not something I could control-!"

"But … I wasn't in control either, Izuku ..." as she slinked closer to him, he staggered backwards, "It's really rough ..."

"T-Tsuyu ..." she slowly stroked his cheek, and then she pinched him.

"You were really pressing me against the door. It hurt."

"S-Sorry ..." his voice slightly distorted, he grimaced in pain as she pulled on his cheek.

* * *

"Volunteer?! That sounds like a great idea! Have you spoken about it with Mr. Aizawa?!"

"Yes, he said he'd talk about it with the other teachers. I'm … not really sure how our schedule would be, but I think it might be nice!" the frog girl slightly envied Tenya. Izuku was capable of holding a steady conversation with him, but floundered and stuttered when he spoke to her.

"I think it's super cool! We'd be helping others out and it'd be fun as well!" Ochako was always positive, even when speaking about something that she knew first hand was terrible.

"These people have lost their homes and loved ones, so I'm not sure if you should be-" she clamped her mouth shut.

"O-Oh, I didn't mean any-" Tsuyu sighed and held up a hand to interrupt the flustered girl.

"No, I'm sorry. It was the first thing that popped into my head, and I know you meant well." she didn't mean to say it. It was a momentary lapse in concentration.

"... Hehehe! It just means we're close, doesn't it? Ah, speaking about being close, shouldn't we go have lunch with some of the others?" Tsuyu nearly hugged her friend. Ochako really was a positive force in the world.

Thinking about it a little, Tsuyu could see that she was a little distant from her other classmates. It would also do Izuku some good to be more sociable as well, considering how reclusive he could be.

"I agree! As class president, it's important to maintain ties with my peers! Who should we eat with today?"

"Actually, could you take Izuku with you to meet with some of the boys? It'd be easier for him to talk with them than it would be to talk with girls."

"Er, what?" the boy in question didn't seem keen about her idea.

"Midoriya, you have trouble socializing?"

"I wouldn't call it trouble, but ..."

"I see! Very well, we shall eat lunch separately! See you back in the classroom!" the two left them, but Izuku kept looking over his back at her which was slightly irritating.

"Aw … I like how Deku really-!"

"He's too dependent at times. He needs to be more friendly." reflecting on her words, she could say the same about herself.

* * *

They were able to get a group together and it had been pleasant, talking with a new crowd.

Momo's words were a bit harsh, but having more conversations revealed to Tsuyu it was the result of living in a strict, but loving environment. Like herself, she was unused to having many friends.

Kyouka was similar to herself, but she wouldn't hide or censor herself for others. It was nice, to have someone be honest, but Tsuyu got the impression that Kyouka had friends, but most may have been male.

She decided to head back first, and in front of the classroom, she found Minoru standing by himself.

"Ah, how was mingling with the others, Tsuyu? Tell me, what kind of lewd things do you talk about? Who's the hottest in the class or something like that?"

Sighing, she had hoped he wouldn't notice her, but that would've been a miracle.

"No, we talked about how serious some people could be. You know, since we're seriously trying to be heroes."

"Hey, I wanna be a hero just as much as you or any of the others want to be!"

"... Right." he stepped in her path, barring her from entry, "Move it, Mineta."

"I had to babysit your boyfriend! He's so hopeless, and you're throwing him to the wolves!"

That was odd. Tenya had said he'd watch over him.

"He's not my boyfriend. What happened?"

"Mr. Class President saw that Bakugou doing something he didn't like and left him there! Cmon, you should have known that straight lace would get distracted!"

"What about the others?"

"If you haven't noticed, people are already forming their little cliques!" he crossed his arms, and tried to speak to her as if she was a child, "Would you like to guess where Midoriya fits into all of that?"

He should have been able to fit in, but Tsuyu knew why he didn't.

"... He didn't try."

"Can you blame the guy? He's downright neurotic without you!" he removed himself, and gave way to the door, "Seriously! Guy was all alone till the end of lunch!"

"That's not true."

"Whadda mean?"

"He had you, didn't he?"

"W-What the hell are you on about?! It's me, after all!" putting a hasty hand on the door, he prepared to open it, "He's crazy and suicidal ... but he's a good guy. That bastard can make better friends than me."

"A friend is a friend, Mineta." he rushed inside, leaving her alone, "... you're the one who underestimates himself the most."

* * *

"Sis? How do you do this?"

"Give it a try first, and then I'll help you."

Satsuki pouted up at Tsuyu before looking down at the paper on the table. The sisters sat in one chair, the younger of them sat in the older's lap.

Their brother had gone out to a friend's house. When pressed on who the friend was, he had become defensive, but Tsuyu let him go. It still worried her about where this friend was, but she couldn't keep a leash on him forever.

Peering down at the algebra problem her sister was doing, Tsuyu wondered if it was a little too hard; however, her sister was doing very well in school, and she was placed in a more advanced math class for her age group.

"Want some fruit?"

"Nah ... na na na, banana ... no. I'm good!" her sister continued to sing nonsensically about fruit before holding up her homework, "Done! Check it, please?"

"Okay." setting the paper back down on the table, Tsuyu muttered an apology as she leaned forward, her sister's head pressing against her chest as she held the paper down.

She grabbed an eraser from the side.

"No ...! No, no, no ...!" her sister cried out as she slowly erased one of her answers.

"Check your work a little more. You're skipping a step."

Satsuki sighed, her breath coming out in a hiss, and then she started working on the problem again.

"... You said you'd help me if I did it first."

"I am helping you! Check your work!"

Tsuyu watched as her sister's frustration rose, and she also sighed.

"Check it really carefully, Satsuki. What are you forgetting to do?"

"... I don't know!"

The little girl was always passing over the step she missed, so much that Tsuyu wanted to point it out and tell her about it.

The front door opened, and since Izuku had left to go check on his mother, she assumed it was him.

"Dinner will be ready soon!" the boy came into the front room, carrying a bag.

Two jelly snacks were placed on the table for them and Tsuyu took them both.

"Sis!"

"Finish the problem first, Satsuki!"

"Ah!" Izuku was looking over her homework, pointing at the mistake, "You forgot to multi-"

"Izuku!"

It was too late. The little girl quickly saw where he had been looking, and in a flurry, fixed her mistake.

"Jelly~!" looking up with wide, gleaming eyes, Satsuki smiled at her sister.

"... Here you go."

Her sister let out squeal of joy, and ripped the container open, and gladly sucked out its contents.

"After you finish, you can fix the other mistake!"

At her questioning glance, Tsuyu pointed at the same problem. In her haste, she had made another error.

"And don't be so quick to point things out, Izuku."

"S-Sorry ..." turning away, he put some of the books they needed to look through for their own studies out on the table, "Where's Samidare?"

"At a friend's."

"Really? Have you met them?"

"I have!" Satsuki spoke up, jelly still in her mouth, "She's nice, I think-? Ah, I wasn't supposed to talk about it!"

"I'll give you my jelly if you tell us more."

"Tsu-!"

"Done!" taking the offered jelly, Satsuki dumped it into her mouth and hummed in delight.

"She's-"

"Finish eating and you can tell us all about it." interrupting her sister's distorted speech, Tsuyu watched her friend sit across the table, spreading his books around his area, "You can sit here, if you want."

She pat the seat next to her. Izuku looked at it and back to her, wearing a concerned expression. He then reached over the table, and pat Satsuki on the head, receiving a content croak for his effort.

"I'll go over some of the stuff while you help Satsuki." Tsuyu cradled her sister tighter as the little girl nestled further into her lap, "We'll study together afterwards."

* * *

"I'm sorry that Samidare wasn't here to eat dinner."

"That's fine! If he comes home hungry though, let me know and I'll make him something!" the mother gleefully washed the dishes as Izuku was trying to control Satsuki. The little girl ran around the apartment, seemingly looking for something as the boy struggled to keep things tidy.

"Please, I don't know what you're looking for, but if you tell me, I'll help you!"

"Sis said I couldn't tell you cause you'd get upset!"

"That's more of a reason to tell me what would make me upset!" he continued to chase her as she started going to the other rooms.

"Could you tell me more about my mother, Mrs. Midoriya?"

"Oh ..." the mother paused before setting her work down in the sink, "You're still interested ..."

Drying her hands off, the matriarch took a seat by the younger girl, wringing her hands in worry.

"Well ... where to-"

A short scream rang throughout the apartment, and before they could get up, Satsuki ran into the room, a familiar notebook in her hands.

"Sis! I found another story!"

Izuku arrived afterwards, sweating and scared.

"W-Wait, Satsuki! T-That's ...!"

"Oh, it's one of Izuku's little ... stories ..." the mother seemed unenthused at the sight of the book, possibly because she had seen many of them before.

"... It's not something to scream over."

"I-I ... I wasn't that loud ..."

"She can keep it, can't she?"

The three stared at the younger girl, who with teary upturned eyes looked to the boy pleadingly.

"Please?" sniffing and croaking, she held the notebook close to her chest, "I lost my other one ... so could you be so kind as to let me have this?"

"What's with that kind of lan- wait! What do you mean you lost your other-?!"

"She doesn't have any other books aside from school textbooks."

"Izuku, surely you're not using it, are you?"

The boy was close to tears as he stared at the notebook held by Tsuyu's little sister.

"... Uuu ... you can have it ...!"

"Yay!" flying towards the boy, Satsuki tightly hugged his midsection, "Thanks so much, Izuku! I can't wait till Sis reads it to me!"

Tsuyu's and Izuku's eyes met.

"... You're going to read it to her?"

"Well ..."

"In that case, why don't you give her the others?"

"There are more?!"

The frog girl was slightly impressed at how expressive Izuku's "shocked" face could be.

"...No ... I uh ... I don't think that's-!"

"Don't be so unkind! Look at Satsuki! Don't you think your stories would be better off with her than in your closet?"

Said little girl looked ecstatic at the mention of more reading material.

"Pretty please, Izuku?! I'll treat them super nicely!"

"I-It's not that, b-but Tsuyu-"

"Why would I matter? It's okay to give her the notebooks."

"... I'll help you take them to your room ..."

The defeated looking boy dragged his feet to his room while a squealing girl followed after him.

"... Who's side are you on, Mrs. Midoriya?"

"Ufufu ... I don't know what you mean? I'm on my son's side." wearing an angelic smile as if she had done nothing wrong, Tsuyu admired how strong the mother had become, "It's not like they're bad ... but they might be a tad embarrassing."

"Still, do you think your son appreciates me reading about his ... how do you ... his dark side?"

"Tsuyu, dear ..." she took Tsuyu's hand in hers, "Aside from me, you're the one who's seen him at his worst, well, his more embarrassing moments. This is nothing, right?"

"... Yes, you're absolutely right."

"I can still hear you!" Izuku passed by, holding a stack of notebooks in his arms, crying, "Please, be a little more considerate!"

"I am, honey! Don't you worry!" Izuku's mother called out to him as Satsuki followed him out of the apartment.

"... Would you please tell me more about my mother? I know it might be uncomfortable-"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I was just so caught up-! I ... I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to tell you about her."

"I also wouldn't mind if you told me more about father."

"He's ... I knew your mother when we were young, and we met Ganma later on, in middle school."

"How long have you known mother?"

"About ... before grade school. There was a daycare, and well ... I knew your mother because she would always be at there very early and would leave very late in the day."

"... Why?"

"There wasn't really a place she could go back to because ... she was an orphan, Tsuyu ..."

* * *

"Um, Mr. Aizawa? Wasn't All Might supposed to meet us here?"

"Don't worry about him." the instructor motioned to the other teacher, 13, to go ahead.

"Okay, class, it's time to break into groups!" Aizawa stood next to a box filled with paper slips. The class took turns, pulling one out at a time until they were all assigned a group.

Class 1-A stood at the entrance of USJ, the site where they had been attacked by villains, but this time, they hoped they would be able to complete their lesson without any life threatening situations.

"You're all in two separate groups! The rescuers, and the victims! The victims will have some time to hide throughout USJ, while the rescuers have to go find them!"

"Hey, this is just like hide-and-seek, isn't it?!"

"I wish you would treat it more seriously than that, Ashido!" after admonishing the pink girl, he relaxed his expression, however much he could behind the bandages, "Victims! Go and hide, but remember not to actually put yourself in danger! We'll only practicing!"

"God fucking damn it!" the only one to show their dissatisfaction was Katsuki, who gripped his victim slip angrily.

* * *

It was in an area covered in trees and other foliage that had fallen onto the artificial path that she had found her friend.

"Found you, Izuku!" calling out to him, she caught his attention as she made her way to him, "You know, you should try hiding in an area that won't be so … difficult for you."

Tsuyu watched as the boy tried clambering to his feet, but slipped a few times, causing her to let out a few croaks, in amusement and worry. The area was designed to simulate a flash flood zone, or some sort of land slide as the terrain was not only rough and slippery. There were plenty of buildings made to look as though they had been buried beneath a tide of mud and rock.

"I-I just thought ..." stammering in embarrassment, probably from falling over, he took the hand that she offered him, "That there might not be many people to come over here. You know, since … well, this is really only your element."

"I admit, there's easier places to hide, but you don't have to go out of your way for me."

"Um … on that note, what made you think that I would have been over-?"

"There's nobody else around here either, so where are you supposed to go now that I've "rescued" you?" she started to make her way to the exit, intending on rescuing more of her classmates.

"Mr. Aizawa told us to report back to him," he followed behind her, not in the least perturbed by her interruption, "So, I guess I'll follow you back. Maybe you've missed someone here?"

"Unlikely, since I've turned this area over. Oh, by the way, I noticed your tracks since the beginning. It was kinda easy finding you." at that, the boy sighed and scratched at his head.

"Wait, so you've been playing around?"

"No, I was watching you squirm in the mud."

She could feel his unease, even if she couldn't see him, but she could also feel a slight rumbling beneath her feet which caused her to stop.

"... I really wish you had come to me sooner-"

Even as he walked into her back, she didn't respond to his apology as she still tried to figure out if there was an earthquake that was about to hit them.

Shushing him with a wave of her arm, Tsuyu crouched down to put her hand flat against the earth.

"W-What's wrong?"

"I dunno … the ground's shaking."

"Really? I don't-"

She grabbed onto him as the ground burst open, jumping over the changing terrain and landing briefly in a mound of mud before she had to move again to avoid whatever was attacking them.

In the distance, she could hear the sounds of explosions, and it wasn't limited to one area. The entire USJ grounds lit up in a series of tiny clouds, telling her that they weren't the only ones in trouble.

"Silly little stu- I mean, heroes." a masculine, flighty voice resounded throughout the area, making it difficult to track the attacker, "To think that none of you would have ever checked the grounds for more of us!"

"That's impossible!" Tsuyu could already hear the beginnings of a mumbling, "I know for a fact they scoured the area, they had taken ever precaution before letting-!"

"Not now, Izuku. Focus on what's here." she looked from where she had jumped from, but whatever had attacked them was gone.

She didn't dare let go of her friend as she took several deep breaths, her eyes scanning their surroundings and trying to sense any of the vibrations she had felt before the attack with her legs.

"... I see. A mutant shape, and the other one isn't too capable of fighting, is that right?"

The voice came from one direction, and looking to it, she saw a thin man, maybe her height, observing them. He wore an unusual getup, with what looked like glass covering his entire body.

"He's shown himself." crouching, ready to jump, Tsuyu didn't like how fast he was to reveal himself.

"... That means he either thinks it doesn't matter if he shows himself, or there's something more to it ..." and her friend voiced a couple thoughts she shared with him.

From what he had told them, it sounded as though he didn't consider them to be threatening, and if that was the case, there was even more of a reason to escape.

He spoke about how he would capture them and present them to his leader, and how pleased he would be with his performance. He also mentioned that he would go on and capture all of their friends.

"Izuku, you said that they had searched all of USJ, correct?"

"Yeah ..."

"So, who do you think he is?" he was still going on about how they would continue and kill All Might, and all of the other teachers at UA.

"I have a few ideas, but … I'd need to see his quirk first."

"And now, my precious - I mean - my unfortunate victims!" he raise his arms, with little barrels jutting out of his palms. At the sight of that, she felt Izuku twitch in her arms, "It's time to perish!"

"Jump away, Tsuyu! Now!"

As soon as he said jump, Tsuyu followed. She saw thin needle-like projectiles fly into the earth, and when the touched the ground, it swelled up and exploded.

"It's ShatterShot! His quirk is-!"

"I kinda feel like I know what he can do!" as she landed, the rumbling in the earth sent alarms ringing through Tsuyu's head, and she used her tongue to grab a nearby tree and pull herself to it before she felt the earth explode behind her.

"Did you see what it was?" her voice distorted by her tongue stretched out, she made sure she wasn't being shot at by the other man.

"Yes! It's a woman! She came out of the ground and tried to grab us!"

Standing on the branch, Tsuyu looked to the man named ShatterShot as she set Izuku down. He stared up at them, with a hand up to the side of his head.

Taking account of her surroundings, Tsuyu knew it wouldn't be too hard to get away from them. There were plenty of trees, and going by how they weren't being attacked by that ground lady, it was actually easy-

"There's more than two."

Putting a finger to her lips, Tsuyu tried to understand how he knew that.

"That woman, I think it was … Vicera." she could honestly say she didn't like that name, "Her quirk isn't to tunnel through the ground. And ShatterShot, I don't think he can project his voice in the way he did- u-um, but I mean, maybe he's talented or something-!"

"There's too many signs."

"H-Huh?" it was his turn to be confused.

"Not only that, but they're not going for us now. They're just watching, waiting to see what we do next."

Silently, he cradle his chin with one of his hands as they thought about their current situation.

"This isn't good. There's too many different variables here. How many are there in total? How many are we fighting now-?"

"We'll review later, but right now, we need to get to the others."

"... You're right." he quit his solo questioning, "Right now we also have another advantage!"

It took a moment of staring at him for him to understand that she didn't know what that was.

"They don't know my quirk-!"

"Don't use it."

"But-!" it took another moment of staring harshly at him for his resistance to die down.

"Don't!" she wrapped her arm around his waist, "I'll get us away from here for now, but-"

"How's it feel to be dead weight?" it was ShatterShot's voice, but it was the same as when he first spoke, it felt all around, and Tsuyu realized that it wasn't projected into the world, but directly into her head.

It was in that moment of surprise that a tiny, white spike thunked against the tree, and the adrenaline that started to race through her body allowed her to see the wood swell up and expand, to the point of bursting, which it eventually did.

Tsuyu was flung from the branch, trying to hold onto her friend. The landing was rough, but even so, she maintained her grip. The pain made her vision go dark, but even if she couldn't see, she had to maintain her hold.

Up until the boy was wrenched from her hands and her neck was caught in a vice.

"Forget it kid!" it was a woman with a cool voice, to the point of being frigid, "Just relax and let yourself be caught! This was all you could do, after all!"

Tsuyu opened her eyes and she finally got why the woman was called Vicera. Her hands were large, large enough to cover Tsuyu's mouth and hold onto her neck. In fact, it felt more like the woman's flesh had bent around hers, in a way that had kept her pinned to the ground.

And as she thought about the ground, she realized that it was parting beneath her, slowly swallowing her up and dragging her down below.

"Poor baby girl!" she realized that Vicera's voice was not actually cold, but emotionless and sardonic, "I bet even if you were surrounded by allies, you'd ... still … be … all … alone …!"

"Tsuyu!" the ground was wrapping around the side of her head now, and after she was caught, her friend would be next. It gave her a tiny jolt of resistance, born from the panic and worry for Izuku, but it wasn't nearly enough to throw the woman off of her.

"In the end ..." the glint in Vicera's eyes showed no compassion for her, "this is all you could do alone! It's a punishment, really, and soon, your friend will join you in the dirt! Suffocating and -!"

The woman stopped suddenly, and it was then that Tsuyu not only noticed that the ground had stopped shifting, but there was now a bit of shade covering her head.

"So, the trigger is vision!" she heard Izuku exclaim from the side.

And all at once, she could feel Vicera get dragged away from her, gasping as she let go of the girl.

Izuku's face appeared above her, a nervous smile on his face.

"We've got to get going!" he lifted her up out of the dirt, allowing her to see what had happened to her captor. She was halfway buried in the dirt, as if someone had dug a hole and dropped her into it and dumped the dirt back into it. There was a large piece of the bark from the tree they had been on settled above her, buried in the same hole as the woman.

Vicera, for her part, was silent as she stared up at Tsuyu without any expression.

"Thanks, Izuku." she picked him up and jumped, entering the tree canopy. Thankfully, nothing exploded as they exited the area.

* * *

When they reached the entrance of the forested area, she let the boy down onto his feet. They had moved about in silence, hoping that would help hide their position.

"... Tsuyu, I … I know you don't want me to use my quirk, but … say, for example, you were in a position where-"

"Let me get captured."

"No! Why would I do that?! Even if you didn't want me to get hurt, do you think I would stand by and let them take you?!"

"... No. You'd do your best to make sure that everyone would be alright."

"Then-!"

"Everyone except yourself, Izuku! So ..." noticing that she had been raising her voice, she downed her yell to a whisper, "... don't use it, please!"

He didn't say anything. Izuku looked down, not with a frustrated expression on his face, but a troubled one.

When she started walking, he followed after her. Guilt stabbed into her, since she knew that she had no right to tell him when and where he should use his quirk, but even so, she couldn't bear seeing him hurt himself again.

" _Wouldn't it be better to tell him to quit?"_

Ana's words stung, now of all times. It was one thing to say it, but to actually be here, in a situation where he would use that quirk of his again, was difficult. She was expecting him to do it, and when he did, she didn't know if she could keep herself calm.

"... I could use it strategically, right?" muttering at her side, he continued resisting.

"Mr. Aizawa said to not become a hindrance. You can't rely on others to help you."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" his voice was weaker, and she could practically hear the tears forming in his eyes, "I mean … Tsuyu …"

She hated herself now. They were training to become heroes, and here she was telling Izuku he couldn't be one in an indirect way.

A long sigh eased out of her and she turned to look him in his teary eyes.

"... Only when it's absolutely necessary."

"Ts-!"

"Don't!" she took his hand and squeezed it tightly, "I don't want you to use it until you're able to not hurt yourself … but we're here to become heroes! You need to be careful, okay?"

"... Right! I'll be careful!" his face lit up and his tears disappeared as he smiled.

Tsuyu stared at him for a few seconds before she put a finger underneath his eyes and pressed against his cheek.

"U-Uh?"

"Do you cry like that to make me feel guilty or is it real?"

"S-Sorry." she pinched his cheek, but given the size of her hands, it looked like she was caressing his face.

"... Let's get going. It's best we quickly find the others before something else happens."

She didn't feel like talking as they walked to the closest area, but she allowed him to mutter a few apologies as he took her hand in his.

* * *

The closest area to them was the windy city environment. They had discussed if they should head to the center, since it was more likely their classmates would head there, but they also thought that their friends might be in trouble like they had been, and decided to help them out first.

When they entered it, a sharp gust blew out from the entrance, chilling them quite a bit as the artificial rain lightly covered their costumes.

"... I'm slightly regretting my choices, Izuku."

"Come on, it's not that cold!" but even as he said those words, the sudden drop in temperature had made their slightly warm bodies shiver, "A-And if it gets a little too cold, then, um ..."

He started to pull the zipper down his jumpsuit, a very dark blush swelling up to his cheeks. His hands were shaking and she could see from his now slightly exposed neck that he was starting to sweat.

"My wetsuit's fine, it's my face that slightly bothers me." tempted, but not seduced, she put a finger to her chin, "You should wear your mask."

"R-Right-"

As he started to pull the zipper back up, she grabbed his hands and shoved her face into his chest. It was insane how much he sweat beneath his costume. She thought it would be better for him to put in a request to make it breathe, but instead of voicing her thoughts, she inhaled deeply as he shook in her grasp.

"Sorry, it's kinda cold in there. Thought I'd warm us both up a little." it was an excuse, but a believable one. He was already melting as she pulled away.

* * *

It was windy, cold, and now it was darker than she thought it would be. At some point, she had put her goggles over her eyes, but they were made to see through deep waters, not showered by water. It did make her head a bit warmer, but it was getting hard to see. She thought of using the flashlight attachment on it, but Izuku warned her it would make things easier to see, but it would also expose them more than it would help them.

It took a few minutes of wandering, but they finally stumbled across an area that held answers for them. Around the buildings, tape was strewn about, fluttering in the wind. The walls and parts of the artificial road were covered in tiny purple balls.

And there were two figures standing in an area covered with these two things, but it was hard to make them out.

"Mineta and Sero were here ..."

"You think that's them up there?"

"I don't know, but it's best to remain on guard, Tsuyu."

"Right!" nodding, they slowly approached the two figures, but they quickly realized they weren't their friends.

For starters, one had a womanly shape. In this training exercise, Tsuyu knew that no woman would want to be anywhere near Mineta, so they wouldn't search for him, who was labeled a "victim"." The other was too tall to be either Minoru or Sero, and he had a ball firmly attached to his foot.

"... Friends or foes?" Tsuyu wiped the glass on her goggles, trying to see better.

"They're ...-" he suddenly pushed her back, away from the two people. The feminine figure had gotten close enough to see, but she was once again obscured by the wind and darkness.

"Izuku! What is it?!" stumbling, she regained her balance and questioned her friend, but taking one look at him let her know something was wrong.

His body was shaking, and looking into his eyes, they were searching the area wildly, as if he couldn't control them. His mouth opened only slightly, but he could only gasp as the hand that had pushed her back remained where it was, shaking violently.

Tsuyu's tongue shot out, wrapping around Izuku's waist as she pulled him to her. Shadowed, but visible, the taller of the two figures finally got free of the ball, and rushed towards the two.

And then a shower of tape and balls blocked them from advancing. Some of it did fly their way, but the wind blew it too far up, onto the buildings.

"That's-!" Izuku gasped for air, "I know who one of our enemies are!"

"Wheeey!" she almost whipped out her tongue to attack whatever strange creature had snuck up on them, but before her tongue smacked it, she stopped.

Denki held his hands out, clenched with the thumbs sticking up, had a strange look on his face. Drool dribbled down his chin before it was blown away by the wind.

"Are you okay?! Where are the others?!" calling to him, she picked Izuku up and ran to the blonde boy's side.

"Huuurrrp!" his hands started rocking back and forth, but he started to hobble away.

"... Is he okay?"

"He must have run out of energy. I stalk- watched him a few times during practice, and it seems he- we've got move! They're not going to be stuck forever!"

* * *

"Are you guys utterly brain dead?! I swear, you must be as dumb as Kaminari is right now!"

"Hey, chill out, Mineta ..."

The greetings they received were mixed. The purple midget was bleeding from his head and Sero was sitting, leaning back on the wall beneath the window. For some reason, both of them looked haggard, and their clothes were wet, but also burnt.

"W-We came to see if we could help ..."

"That was the only exit to this place and instead of getting help, you waltz right into them! You've got to be kidding me!" Minoru's breathing was too panicked and he started pacing, "At this rate, we're done for! Just when I thought it was all over, why does this place keep kicking us in the balls?!"

"Calm down, Mineta. Don't be like you were last time."

"Oh, I forgot, you don't have balls, but shouldn't your ovaries be-!"

It earned him a slap laced with pain poison, which sent him to his knees screaming.

"What happened here, Sero?"

"Oh, um ..." the boy took a cautious look at Minoru, who was still screaming in pain, "Well, we thought it'd be a nice idea to cool off here, you know? It's kinda hot outside, and this place is great once you get used to it."

"... Your quirks are terrible for this area."

"Well, we didn't expect to be attacked, Asui!"

"You can call me Tsuyu, Sero." she took a seat, helping Izuku down.

"Hm … okay, but can you call me Hanta?" grinning, he rubbed the back of his head.

"Wheey!" Denki stood still, next to the window as it blew freezing rain onto him, shaking his arms back and forth.

"How did everything go down, Sero?" she used her tongue to sit Denki down, to at least block some of his body from the cold, but he wasn't short enough. The wind now blew directly onto his face. He made a tiny noise and she forced him to move closer.

"No chance, huh?" she pretended to ignore the slight despair in his voice as he lowered his head, "Well, we were hanging out, talking about girls-"

"Were you all pretending to hide?"

"Uh ..." he was hesitant, but eventually he shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, we were."

"You idiot … !" Minoru was starting to regain his senses, "Don't tell her!"

"I think she kinda knows what we were doing anyway. Well, we were talking-"

"About girls." she interrupted, making him wince slightly.

"Yeah … and we were suddenly jumped by those two outside! We tried fighting back, but the wind, you know? Also, Kaminari over here-"

"He tried using his quirk and he burned the hell outta everyone! It's the only reason why we were able to get away in the first place cause he dragged us! Unwittingly, I might add!"

"Wheey ..." despite his decreased faculties, Denki seemed to understand that he had hurt the other two.

"... I wouldn't go so far as to blame Kaminari for your situation, Mineta." Izuku, who had been quiet for some time, piped up.

"Why not?! All of a sudden he goes, "Let's get'em, guys!" and unloads all his stuff all over the place! It sucked!"

"One of those people, I know their quirk."

"Huh?" "Whey?"

"Her name is … um … how should I say it? Unapproachable Maiden Everclear ..."

Tsuyu and the other boys stared at him in confusion for a few seconds.

"... She also goes by Ume."

"How do you know the villain's name, Midoriya?"

"And the other one, if that's Ume out there ..." he ignored Minoru's question, "... It must be InerTian-" "Hey, don't ignore me, asshole!" "-Tell me, did he seem … super fast? And if he ever touched anything, did it seem to … uh … fly faster? Or float?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, he did something weird with Mineta's balls!"

"Uh … that kinda sounds like a crime ..."

"No, you know what I mean!"

"S-Sorry! What did he do?"

"They stopped sticking to him."

"... Yeah, that sounds like it makes sense! So, we're fighting against Ume and InerTian!"

"Who are they?"

"I don't know why they're here, but I do know what their quirks are! I think I've got a plan for us to get away!"

* * *

When they moved out, preparing for their parts, Tsuyu observed their opponents from the side of a building.

The two were standing now at the entrance. There must have been some sort of communication between the others and these two. That would explain why they weren't covering the entrance when she and Izuku had entered.

Tsuyu's part was simple: attach Hanta's tape to the villains and rush towards the entrance. They had come up with a way to give Denki some power, by rubbing Hanta's tape together and pressing it against the boy's head. It worked, somewhat, and he had become more coherent, but he told them it wouldn't be enough to take them out.

Which was alright. They only needed to stun them briefly and make their escape, but it all came down to how fast Minoru and Izuku could move and how fast she could pull the others to herself. There were several points on her body where Hanta's tape had been attached, each serving a different purpose to help them achieve their goals.

She crept down the wall, seeing her two friends make their way towards their opponents. The man, InerTian, started towards them while Ume kept her distance.

The woman's quirk was vision based, so as long as she couldn't see anyone, her quirk wouldn't take effect. Her comrade's quirk relied on touch, and it was extremely dangerous in these conditions, but as long as he didn't touch them directly, they should still be okay.

Izuku and Minoru had made makeshift shields to defend themselves against Ume's quirk. Izuku had said that she could control another person's senses just by looking at them. Fear could come in an instant, and even bravado could well up in anyone she looked at.

InerTian broke out into a run. The two seemed to notice as they stopped.

Holding the tape in her hand, she prepared to take down Ume, but something gripped her heart.

Ume was looking right at her.

Tsuyu almost slipped off the wall. She took one of the tape ends and tugged at it. She was lucky enough to be a good distance away in this weather, or else she was sure Ume's power would have been much stronger.

She could see Minoru shake, and he spoke to Izuku, who nodded back. InerTian was already upon them.

Flinging his shield at the man, Izuku took Minoru's and the little purple boy started running at max speed towards Ume. InerTian avoided the shield and it landed to his side.

The woman's sight was taken off of Tsuyu and she turned to Minoru. She seemed surprised that the boy didn't stop, and instead, he ran even faster, with drool dripping from his mouth.

Ume's quirk was scary in that it could control emotions, but Minoru was scarier because his lust was stronger than her quirk.

InerTian tried to stop the boy, but Izuku tackled him with the shield. The boy broke away from the man, sticking a piece of tape on his foot and another on Minoru's shield as InerTian tried to take the shield off of him.

He could remove the adhesive property of Minoru's balls using his force control, which allowed him to control how strong a force was, but it would take a while due to how many of the balls had been attached to him.

Tsuyu dipped down as Minoru reached Ume, who had started panicking. Slapping the tape quickly onto the woman's back, she picked up Minoru and grabbed Izuku with her tongue.

Giving a quick tug on another piece of tape, they three took cover behind a building as their friends began their part.

Their opponents had quickly recovered, with InerTian removing the shield from himself and Ume was recovering from her shock, but they both froze as a strong current ran through the tape.

A few seconds later, Hanta swung down from one of the buildings, Denki firmly attached via tape to his back.

Taking Izuku in one arm and Minoru in the other, Tsuyu's tongue shot out and grabbed the two before she jumped towards the exit.

A great weight forced her tongue to the ground, and she felt a sharp pain where she still held the two boys.

InerTian still had the tape attached to him, so he must have used it to increase gravity's strength on them, something Izuku had told them but she hadn't fully believed in it.

Struggling, she tried twisting in the air to land, but given the two in her arms, there was too much of a weight difference and she had underestimated how strong the gravity effect was. Her leg twisted on landing, causing her to slip and fall hard on her knee.

"Sero! Cut your tape!" Izuku slipped out of her grasp and started to pull at a piece of tape in his hands.

Tsuyu, wincing at how hot her leg had become, saw Hanta struggling to tear the tape that Denki still had attached to his arm.

By now, Ume already had them in her sights, and Tsuyu felt the beginning of a great terror rise in her heart.

Before one of their shields slammed into her back, sending her to the ground. Looking to Izuku, she realized that he had pulled in the other shield to take the woman out. Normally, it would be extremely difficult, to pull something like that from this distance, but the wind must have helped send it into their opponent.

As he helped Minoru to his feet, Tsuyu thought that it had been extremely fortunate that it had flown into Ume.

"Can you stand?!" Izuku held a hand out to her. Hanta and Denki were quickly approaching, but so was InerTian.

Taking his hand, she tried to rise, but her leg was extremely weak. Trying to put her foot under her, she gasped as it refused to move, instead, it started throbbing numbly.

"I can't!" she was about to let go of his hand, to tell him to run, but he shoved his arm into the ground, scooping her knees up and twisting her so her neck rested on his other arm.

It was extremely painful, and through the haze of pain, she could hear him apologizing profusely as he ran.

"Hurry your asses up!" it could have been Minoru or Hanta, but the girl was too distracted by the pain.

Soon, a burst of light blinded her briefly before she heard the sound of metal doors closing.

* * *

The pounding at the doors finally stopped after a few minutes.

When they had escaped, Minoru and Hanta were quick to block the door as much as they could with their quirks. Some balls would fall and tape would flutter to the ground, but InerTian must have given up. There was a tiny mountain of purple and clear material to go through, so he probably didn't think it was worth the effort.

Meanwhile, she winced as Izuku set a splint on her leg.

"I don't know if it's broken or sprained, but it's best if you don't use it." grimly, he tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it didn't help.

"... If I can't use my leg, Izuku-"

"No, no! You still have your tongue and poisons! We can't leave you!"

"... I was going to say it means you have to carry me. What, were you thinking of leaving me behind? I wouldn't blame you."

She heard Minoru sigh as Izuku took a few minutes trying to explain how he wouldn't leave any of them behind, and how she shouldn't think like that.

"Dude, she's messing with you!"

"H-Huh?"

"You think she really thought you, of all people, would leave her behind?! Seriously, it's so hard being around you two!" the purple midget threw his hands into the air, "Now can we please move already?! I really, really want All Might to show up and blast these guys away so we can go home!"

"... Yeah, we should head to the main plaza ..." Izuku had a odd look on his face, "Moving around with this many people would certainly improve our odds, but by now, everyone … everyone should be there, but ..."

"Mineta's right. We should really get moving, Izuku." hesitantly, she voiced her approval of Minoru's plan, "So, pick me up already."

"Uh, right!" he picked her up the same way, but as the others started walking away, she told him to wait.

"What is it?"

"... Give me a piggyback ride, please."

"Huh? Why?"

"... Don't you think this is a little embarrassing?"

He was carrying her in a way a knight would hold a princess, or so she told herself. It was almost humiliating because she didn't like how helpless it made her feel.

"T-Tsuyu, carrying you in any way would kinda be embarrassing ..."

"Just give me a piggyback ride, please?" she stared up at him, her head down a bit. She made sure she whispered her plea in a pitiful way.

"... Fine ..."

* * *

Arriving to the main plaza, they didn't see as many of their classmates as they had hoped.

"Tsuyu! Deku!" bouncing over to them, Ochako hugged the two, but it was a little awkward, having the bright girl's face only a few millimeters away from her own.

"U-Uraraka! Have you seen the rest?" Tsuyu didn't miss the jealous muttering coming from Minoru, but she didn't want to think about it as she felt Izuku's blood begin to boil.

The only ones here were the students that did better than the rest. Katsuki, Momo, Tenya, Eijirou, Mina, Kyouka, and Ochako were the only ones here.

"... Does that mean that the others-?"

"Good job making it this far, "heroes"!"

It was a man's voice and it didn't take long to see who it had come from. A figure landed a few meters away, sending dust flying into their faces.

When it cleared, Tsuyu could see a large, mask wearing man kneeling.

"Good, I was getting bored with these losers crying their asses off!" Katsuki grinned violently as he looked at this new arrival.

"This is bad ..." from his shoulder, she heard Izuku muttering, "With everyone we've faced so far … this means that this is …!"

"Such attitude! I think I'll enjoy showing you the true meaning of pain!" rising to his feet, the man towered over everyone, and it gave them all a good look of what he held in one of his hands.

"T-Todoroki!" she didn't know who had shouted, but she was felt the same amount of shock.

Tsuyu didn't know him personally, only seeing him do a few things, but never speaking to him, but he was supposedly the strongest boy in the class. He kept to himself, but he was still one of them.

Hanging limply in the stranger's hand, Todoroki looked beaten and battered.

"Ah, this one? He put up quite a fight, but as you see, I think he'll serve nicely as a meat shield!"

Even Katsuki, that strong, violent, and arrogant boy seemed to hesitate now. It wasn't good when the opponent had a hostage, and not only that, but somebody that wasn't easy to take down.

"... What's the matter? You all looked so eager to take me on," the man started waving their classmate, their friend around in the air, "but it looks like it was nothing, wasn't it-?"

With a burst of motion, Katsuki flung himself towards the man, trying to shove his hand into his face. The man prevented the hand from making contact with his forearm, but the following explosion covered his head.

"Get going, you trash!" screaming back at them, he catapulted himself over the man, and tried to strike at the back of his head, but the man had moved, or he must have because now he was behind the airborne Katsuki, "Go …-!"

All of a sudden, he was lying on the ground, a foot on his chest as the ground cracked.

"Yes, it seems like your only choice is to run, isn't it, little students?! Against an overwhelming force, that's the only thing you can do!"

"No, no, no …! There's … maybe, maybe there's something that we can do …!" entering full-blown mutter mode, Izuku struggled to find an answer, "Only … time! We need a little more time! Kirishima!"

"Shit …! Midoriya, what is it?!"

"Keep him distracted with Katsuki!"

"Got it!" either not knowing what else to do, or simply because the idea appealed to him, Eijirou rushed toward the man.

"Get lost, small fry! Didn't you hear me?!"

"I did!" hardening his arm, he threw it with everything he had at the stranger's gut, but when he hit, the man didn't even seem to notice, "But between running with my tail between my legs, or fighting together with a bro, I think it's clear-!"

The boy was slapped, and that simple action sent him flying back, but flipping over, he dug his hand into the ground as a makeshift brake.

"Ugh … let's do this, Bakugou …!"

"Tch!" despite his attitude, the volatile boy smiled, "Fine! Try not to get … in … my way!"

Pressing his palms against the man's leg, his arms twitched violently before consuming the boy of them in a giant explosion.

"Yaoyozoru!" moving on, Izuku tried to get more support for the two, "Can you make an electrical generator?! Possibly solar powered?!"

"That's … I can …" faced against this fearsome opponent, and possibly due to Todoroki's defeat, she was more shaken than Tsuyu thought she would, "What's your plan?"

"... If that's who I think it is, the only way we can win is if we work together! With everyone here!" the frog girl could now feel him shaking. It was starting to irritate and hurt her leg, "We've got a few good people here, so I think it's possible, no … it is possible!"

"... Okay, I'll make one!" seeing his determination must have filled her with some sort of hope, "I … let's do our best!"

"Hey, Deku! You've got a plan, don't you?! Tell me what I should do!" Ochako approached with the others.

"I don't know if whatever you got can take that thing out, but … well, I suppose having something's better than my nothing!"

"Yeah, what Mina said!" Kyouka and Mina haven't worked with Izuku in the past, but seeing a few of the others trusting him must have convinced them that his plan was at least worth attempting, "Midoriya, what can we do?"

Tsuyu pursed her lips. She felt like dead weight and it was very unpleasant.

* * *

As Momo tried to create a battery, she had to admit that it wasn't possible for her to make a solar powered battery that was strong enough to charge Denki, but with Mina's help, they managed to make a battery with her making the generator, they quickly hooked Denki up to it. According to Momo, it would probably take a while for the boy to get a high enough charge.

Kyouka hooked her earlobes to her boots, and per Izuku's instructions, waited for the signal to blast the man with enough noise to disorient him.

With explosions and Eijirou's support, Katsuki was successful in keeping the stranger's attention. Smoke constantly covered the fighting so they couldn't see what they were up to. Knowing how well Katsuki knew Izuku, he knew that there was a plan in the works, and it wouldn't be long before it was put into action.

Tenya delivered material around the field, setting up their trap. He also had the job of transporting Ochako to the stranger so she could complete her duty.

Hanta and Minoru were using their quirks to capture the stranger around the perimeter, via the Tenya line.

Meanwhile, Tsuyu was hanging off of Izuku's back.

"What should I do?"

"... Hang on, Tsuyu." he looked back to the fighting, probably hoping that everything would work out, "You've got a very important part coming up."

"What?"

"As you know, the plan is to have Uraraka float that guy, but the only way we can trap him is if we send him flying into the fence."

"So, you want me to propel him?"

"Hopefully, yes ..." he anxiously gripped her shins a little more tightly, "But ..."

Their talk couldn't continue. By now, everything was set up, but the two fighters were also slowing down.

"It's too bad ..." the smoke and explosions were beginning to die down, "... that the best laid plans are always torn to pieces!"

A great gust of wind ripped through the area. As Izuku struggled against the force, Tsuyu saw that most of their fence had been destroyed.

Katsuki and Eijirou lied on the ground, but they were still conscious. Todoroki still hung limply from the man's grasp.

"Now, Iida!"

Their friend picked up Ochako and sprang towards the stranger. At the same time, Kyouka used her boots to send a disorienting wave towards their opponent.

It worked, to some degree, but the man waved his free hand and sent the runner to the side and he did his best to shield Ochako from the ground.

"Now … prepare your-!"

There was a weird, mechanical sound, as if metal was sliding against metal, and a large metal ball hit the man in the gut.

"Guh …!" it had an effect, but he quickly straightened himself, before blocking the next projectile.

"This won't keep for long! Hurry!" Momo had made a motar launcher, but she must have removed any explosive element, in order to not hurt Todoroki.

"Deku! Sorry I couldn't get closer!"

"I-It's my fault, Midoriya! He's too strong!" Tenya and Ochako wore remorseful faces, since their roles were the most important.

"It's okay! … We haven't run out of hope!" he froze, before placing trying to hand her to Tenya. He had been considerate, but it only irritated her slightly since they were pressed for time.

"Tsuyu … I'm sorry, but … I have to use my quirk."

She stared blankly at him while the Tenya and Ochako looked at them in confusion.

" … Why?"

"Because it's necessary! I … I can't think of any other-!"

"Why did you listen to me, Izuku?"

"... I didn't want to upset you. My quirk mangles my body, and I knew that you were only worried."

Staring at him, she felt pain in her gut, and she knew it was guilt.

"You fool."

"E-Eh?" she managed to stun the three.

"You can use your quirk. I was the one being stupid."

"Y-Your concern isn't stu-"

"Is there anything you would like us to do?" asking, she already knew there wasn't anything else that was within their abilities.

Izuku wanted to argue some more, it was obvious, but he knew they didn't have time so he sighed.

* * *

"Gah, this barrage is relentless! I'll just have to-!"

"Not a chance, you blind moron!"

With an explosion, Katsuki managed to make obscure the man's vision, allowing the cannon to avoid his arm and slam against his stomach. He hunched over, and the boy took this chance to grab Todoroki and free him from his grip.

At that moment, Izuku brought his hand up, and flicked towards the man. It was brief, but she heard the flow of power, like the roaring of a storm, before the gusts created by that simple action filled the area.

When things cleared up, she could see that he had sent the man into the remnants of their trap, and he was stuck against the tape and Minoru's balls.

"Kaminari!" the pain was audible in his voice, but he didn't stammer, "Do it!"

Lightning surged from her side, and traveled down the tape. The man was subjected to all the power that the boy was able to gather in a short period of time.

After he ran out, the group approached the man, preparing to make sure he wouldn't be able to chase them.

"H-Hold on, everyone!" the man removed the mask, "It's me, All Might!"

They proceeded to vent their frustrations out on the hero, both verbally and physically, but a few of them refrained as they saw Aizawa and 13 approaching.

* * *

"It seems that only some of you managed to make it to the end!"

The entire thing was a training exercise. The people that had attacked them were heroes from different areas, and now as she stood with her classmates, her attackers stood in front of her with people she didn't recognize.

"... According to my "colleagues"." he motioned to the heroes, "Most of the trouble was because you haven't worked with each other much in the past!"

Apparently, many of her classmates had been captured earlier. She was among the few that had escaped the initial attack.

The ones that they had met up with in the main plaza had passed the first trial. Katsuki and Tenya had been "rescued" by Ochako, while Momo had rescued Kyouka and Mina. Eijirou hadn't managed to find anyone, but he was able to stand up against his attackers.

"Admittedly, you were up against pro heroes, and we had a lot of extra help." this time, Aizawa motioned to two heroes that had been instrumental to the exercise.

The two were women wearing clothes that resembled a cat costume.

"Ugh ... controlling the earth so much ... what a pain!"

"Hush! Try to remain professional, or else they'll have us do more training!"

"... This was not only an exercise for you! This was also a learning experience for the heroes as well!" it was obvious that their teacher was doing his best to ignore the nauseous looking women, "We agreed to help the Hero Association train some of their least combative heroes."

He looked around at them. Tsuyu noted that many of her classmates were crestfallen, probably because they feel as though they had disappointed the teacher, but they should recognize the strength of the heroes. Instead of feeling down, they should use this as a learning experience.

"Alright, we're going back to the school! The people with injuries will go see Recovery Girl as soon as we get back!"

* * *

A few were injured enough to require Recovery Girl's services. Fortunately, Tsuyu's leg wasn't broken and one kiss from the nurse had her walking again.

Izuku, Katsuki, Eijirou, and surprisingly Tooru needed help. The three boys had been injured in their fight with All Might, while Tooru needed help because the hero who had gone against her, Mount Lady, had stepped on her. The hero had apologized profusely, and was punished accordingly.

Tsuyu waited until Izuku was done. Katsuki had scoffed at her as she left, and she said her goodbyes to Eijirou.

Tooru stayed behind. She sat next to Tsuyu on the bench outside the school.

"Hey, Tsuyu?"

"Yes?"

"What do you do for fun?" she had no way of reading the other girl's expressions, aside from the fluttering of the school uniform.

"... I study."

"Really?! We really gotta get you a hobby or something!"

"Studying can't be a hobby?" it was odd that a student would shirk off one of their responsibilities so easily.

"No! That's a chore! Something your parents do so you don't end up stupid!" the slight bend gave Tsuyu the idea that she was stretching backwards, "Mmm ... do you go out?"

"Nope."

"What about when you went with us to karaoke?"

"It's ... my situation at home is a little different."

"No more going out?"

"Not for a while."

"Hmm ..." bending forward, Tooru gave off a thinkers pose, "Gee, if only there was some sort of topic, or boy, I really want to know more about ..."

"... You can ask whatever question you'd like."

"Is that so?!" gleefully, Tooru must have clapped her hands together, "What about Midoriya? What's he like?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like ... you know? What's he like? You've known him since forever, right?"

"Izuku, he's a little ... odd."

"Really?"

"Sometimes, he's so timid and shy. He gives off the "I'm prey" sorta feeling."

"... Rea~lly?"

"And ..." Tsuyu put a finger to her chin.

"And~?"

".. And then he does things that make me sigh."

"In what way?"

"Exasperation. Sometimes he thinks, and thinks, and sometimes he doesn't think at all. He does ridiculous things that I ... would rather he not do."

"Such as~?"

"Like hurting himself, or doing something so reckless that I think it's insane that he would even consider doing it."

"Why?"

"... What do you mean?"

"Why does he do those things? I mean, he strikes me as a "nerd" sorta character."

"He is a bit of a- no, he is a nerd through and through. He does these things because it's just who he is."

"And who is he?"

It caught the frog girl off guard. She couldn't really put into words who the boy was.

"... He's a hero."

"What makes you say that?"

"He saved me and Mineta during the attack."

"Does that automatically make someone a hero?"

"Some would consider that."

"Do you?"

"... I think that it certainly makes someone a little more qualified."

"But do you think he's a hero because of that?"

"... He's stubborn, and sometimes stupid." a few thoughts floated through her mind, "He does things that makes me wonder, "Why did he do that?", or "Really, making me worry so much!". At times, he really irritates me, but ..."

"But~?"

"... He's incredibly kind, and thoughtful. He's good at reading people, and he does things you never expect him to do."

"... Ehehe!"

"What's up?"

"Oh, nothing~! I got one more question!"

"Nothing I've said has stopped you so far ..."

"Why do you like Midoriya so much?"

"... Excuse me?"

"Oh, come on! It's clear you care about him! But, I was just wondering, if someone else were to be the same way as Midoriya, what would be different about him?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand. Are you implying that I have feelings for Izuku? If so, I'm completely unawar-"

"Alright, alright! Um, just what would be different? What makes him stand out, since, uh, you know? He doesn't really stand out."

Tsuyu thought a lot about Izuku, and who he was. About how he acted, and how he made her feel.

"... Have you ever seen Izuku?"

"Uh, yeah. He's not invisible like me."

"I ... don't know how to put it entirely into words. When you're around him, you ... feel as though he does everything to the best of his ability. Whether it's studying, fighting, spending time with your siblings, ... to some degree, talking. He ... tries his best, and it makes you feel like doing your best as well. Izuku ... he makes me want to be better. To not just be a better me, but to be the best me that I can be."

It took a few moments until the shame set in.

"He tries really hard and I think it's only fair that I also try just as hard."

"Oh ... uh, sure, Tsuyu." she could even feel the invisible girl's embarrassment, "That's ... kinda intense."

She didn't like this. It was too awkward now. Things like this always happen when she doesn't pay close enough attention to her mouth.

It felt like forever until the boy got there. As she left with Izuku, she could hear Tooru giggling behind her.

The invisible girl was a lot scarier than Tsuyu thought she was.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!**

 **Originally, I wanted it to be an entirely different scene, but I kept it as heroes training heroes. Another villain attack would be super insane!**

 **Plus, Izuku would be super wrecked by the time the sports festival began. That's how badly he would have been injured.**


End file.
